Back to Disaster
by Silent Wrath
Summary: 1/4 in the Dysfunctional Universe. Kim has never been one to keep a steady relationship, but the new world that's being denied to her is a little too tempting to ignore. Kigo TW:Domestic violence and mild "torture".
1. Down The Rabbit Hole

_**It's officially been one year since the completion of Dysfunctional Family. It took me a couple of months to recover from Kigo burnout but now that that's all cleared up, my mind has been running quite rampant with idea's for this story. This story is sorta A.U. our plasma slanging super villainess is without her plasmic abilities in the beginning of the story. I hope you all enjoy this prequel.**_

_**"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate."**_

Tired green eyes stared into darker, more exhausted, green ones as the two girls circled each other, both looking for the opening that would get them a jolt closer to victory. Every change in body language, every shift in mood, every step made was quickly noted.

The ground beneath them was holding up quite well underneath their weight, although the rusted steel of the walkway creaked as they moved. The state of the old lair itself was debatable. For all they knew, the building could collapse around them at any moment, but that was a risk they were willing to take.

The windows had been boarded over some time ago. It was apparent termites had taken a toll on it. The space wasn't large; it had been one of those small rental lairs Drakken had ordered in his time of need.

The raven-haired woman's opponent paced, carefully crossing each foot over the front of the other. Each foot was expertly trained to land perfectly at an angle that would give their owner a solid stance and optimize her balancing potential. Her hands were only so high in the air, one pulled back, and she was slightly bent at the knees. The raven-haired woman knew this stance well; her redhead was poised to attack.

All noise but the shallow breathing of the other warrior fell deaf on their ears as they pushed out the rest of the world. The tension between the two would allow no more defensive games to be played. They were consumed by each other and no one else dared interfere.

No one with a brain they actually used...

"Woman!" Doctor Drakken shrilled for the aid of his trusty partner in crime. "Hurry up!"

The scientist waited a few moments before dropping his arms and whining, "Shegoooo! I need your help! Now is so not the time to play silly cat-and-mouse games with our arch foe! We have things and people to steal and you are taking much too long for my liking!"

The dark haired woman smirked evilly. A smirk her opponent knew well. The redhead tossed one back that was just as, if not more, mischievous than the taller martial artists'.

"Ain't got all day Pumpkin," The sultry voice taunted its opponent.

"Master calling?" The redhead retorted. She loved this segment of their dance. The teasing always made their situation seem less threatening.

The elder of the two moved in swiftly, taking the tiny opening the redhead allowed her. Striking the smaller woman wasn't as easy as it would seem. The palm strikes weren't making quite the impact she wanted them to, so she switched tactics.

Shego's last strike sent her off balance and the redhead nearly lost her composure with glee as she found what she thought was the perfect opening, only she was wrong.

It was too late to block the roundhouse kick her opponent sent her way. It connected solidly with the side of her head, and her flight through the air was a short and painless.

The raven-haired woman shuddered and raced forward as the young redhead crashed headfirst through a boarded window. They were on the second level and she wasn't sure the younger woman would be conscious enough to catch herself.

Kim groaned and wondered why she hadn't felt the world-shattering pain she knew she should have felt, especially if she had hit the ground at the angle from which she was hanging.

Her questions were answered as she noticed strong arms around her. The redhead wasn't sure what she was going to do; she hadn't brought her own sidekick along on this mission. She'd thought it'd be in and out, not something she'd end up needing medical care for.

Her head began to throb, and she could barely make out the voice of her opponent. She was blacking out. Surely if the kick hadn't given her a concussion, flying through the window definitely did it.

"Pumpkin?" The raven-haired vixen called, hoping to get some sort of reaction out of the younger woman.

"Did you kill her?" Doctor Drakken asked, peeking over Shego's shoulder.

"I hope not," she replied, putting her face close to Kim's. She breathed a sigh of relief as she felt Kim's light breath on her face. "She's alive."

"Good, lets go," Drakken said, turning to head back to the hovercraft.

"We can't just leave her here," Shego said incredulously.

"I know that," he huffed. He might be a mad scientist, but he wasn't mad enough to leave the super hero out here with no one to look after her.

"Oh," Shego muttered, picking up the smaller woman and heading toward their vehicle. "She'll probably need medical attention."

"Don't make me think about the bill," Doctor Drakken muttered. "It'll make me change my mind."

Shego huffed, holding securely onto her charge. He said that as if he'd actually be the one paying it. The young hero was out cold. Shego had completely expected the girl to block her assault.

There was no use in rethinking the decision now; though she felt she should have at least controlled the power output of the attack.

"Where should we take her?" Doctor Drakken asked, looking over his shoulder at the Amazonian warrior.

Shego thought on this; she knew the younger woman's hometown was Middleton and her mother was a doctor.

"What's the largest hospital in Middleton?" she asked.

"That one," Doctor Drakken said, pointing out of the window toward where they were heading.

"That's the most intelligent thing I think you've ever done," Shego teased. Of course this statement wasn't true, she was convinced Drakken actually had a brain; he just wasn't too keen on using it.

They landed in the parking lot, far away from other cars. For a hospital, things were pretty slow. They supposed that was a good thing, the less people that saw them, the better.

Shego took a moment to put on civilian clothing over her suit. The raven-haired woman knew most people didn't know her by face, only her signature green and black catsuit.

She pinned her hair up in a ponytail, her dark green cargo pants hung loosely around her waist, and lack of a belt was evident. The white thermal she pulled on wasn't long enough to hide the uncovered area but she didn't too much care.

Shego sighed as she pulled the unconscious woman from the hovercraft, silently noting how light the other woman was. Either she was getting stronger or Kim wasn't eating properly. She figured the latter probably wasn't the case, she'd seen her redhead eat.

Shego held Kim as one would hold a sleeping child. Kim's arms were stuck between them, and the young redheads' legs were wrapped around her waist. She supported Kim from underneath her bottom as the rest of her body weight was evenly distributed to Shego's top half.

"Let's make this quick," Drakken muttered as she closed the door.

The two women quickly drew looks from people in the parking lot. It made Shego feel slightly uneasy. She wasn't used to so many eyes being on her. It was a good thing the doors to the emergency room weren't too far off, it held the raven-haired woman from growling at the onlookers.

More eyes turned on the young women. Kim's slumped form was definitely drawing some attention, especially when several nurses that stood around conversing looked their way. A male nurse hung back and picked up the phone while several women scurried over to the pair.

The nurses instantly recognized the red hair even as it concealed its owner's face.

"What happened to her?" the male nurse asked as he strode up to the group.

"We were sparing and she missed a block." Shego told him. "She's unconscious but she's breathing."

The nurses wheeled over a gurney and Shego gently laid the girl down onto it.

Eventually Doctor Drakken left and Shego stayed at the hospital and patiently waited. After two hours of people-watching, a very important-looking woman approached her, flanked by two uniformed members of Global Justice.

"Samantha," The woman said in casual greeting. She didn't want to alert anyone by calling the villainess by her pseudonym.

"Betty," She greeted back, somewhat friendly.

"Am I going to have to take you in?" Doctor Director asked. The stocky brunette took a seat next to the other woman.

"Like I said," Shego huffed through clenched teeth. "It was a sparing accident."

"Uh huh," the officer accepted. She turned to face the other woman and their eyes locked. Green glared into bemused brown. "Why did you stay?"

"Huh?"

"Why are you still here?" the officer repeated.

"Well I... umm...she uh..." Shego stuttered. She was cut off by her cell phone ringing. The very familiar tune continued to jingle and the villainess quickly fumbled for her phone.

"Orrick," she answered with her last name.

"Where's my dry cleaning?" the crisp voice on the other end spoke. It was heavily accented and leaden with irritation.

"I haven't picked it up yet," Shego muttered.

"What in the world have you been doing all day?" the voice of the other end of the phone asked. "I ask for one simple thing and you can't even do that."

The line died and Shego sighed. She closed the offending piece of technology and slid it back into her pocket.

"You should let me shoot her," Doctor Director said somewhat jokingly. "I'd get off, you know."

"Training accident?" Shego grinned. "No thanks, I can't chance losing someone who keeps me so sane."

"Awe," the older woman was beginning to taunt before the doctors came out to talk to her.

Shego sat back since she clearly wasn't important enough to tell. Apparently, from what Shego could make out, the red head's mother was in surgery and Kim was suffering from a severe concussion.

"Fuck," Shego thought. She looked down at her watch and felt it was time to leave.

"Can she have visitors?" Doctor Director inquired.

"Not until Doctor Possible gives the okay," the physician said.

"My agents and I will standby," the officer told him. She turned around to look for the other woman but she was gone.

Shego thought about how idiotic it was to be where she was at that moment, but she didn't care. Luckily enough for her, the hospital's ventilation shafts were larger than average ones. Idiotic played into the part where she had no idea where Kim's room was.

She passed some interesting rooms. An old man getting a sponge bath, a grown woman fighting off getting a shot, a kid whose finger was being reattached (apparently he didn't throw the fire cracker he lit in his hand fast enough).

She passed a few more rooms and finally came to the one she was looking for.

"Pumpkin!" Shego called in a loud whisper.

"Eh?" the red head looked around wildly.

"Up here in the vent!" Shego watched as Kim's eyes met hers, and her lips formed an O-shape.

"What are you doing here?" Kim asked.

Shego was glad Kim couldn't see the blush that covered her cheeks.

"I just wanted to make sure I hadn't killed you," Shego said.

"Oh how selfish," Kim snapped. "Could you care any less for my well being?"

"It's not like that," Shego told her. She pushed aside the grate that covered the shaft and hopped down out of the ceiling. "You think I wanted to put you in here?"

"Well didn't you?" Kim asked, a look of bewilderment gracing her features.

"You missed the block," Shego told her. "I just knew it wouldn't connect."

Kim was even more confused by the guilty look that Shego gave. The villainess looked down at her trainers and sighed.

"What do you mean I missed the block?" Kim asked, looking at Shego through perplexed eyes.

Shego shook her head and sat down on the middle of the bed where Kim as scooted over to make room.

"Don't worry about it, Pumpkin." she replied.

The two women sat there for a few moments. As Shego studied her feet, Kim stared directly at the raven-haired woman, noticing small features she'd never had the opportunity to appreciate before. Kim's confused expression slowly turned into a broad grin.

Shego huffed lightly out of annoyance.

"What, Princess?"

"I've never seen you in street clothes before," the younger woman answered. "Or with your hair pulled back."

"So?"

"I've actually never seen you look normal." Kim said with a shrug.

"What is normal?" Shego inquired. "I've never experienced normal a day in my life."

"Some of us are more fortunate than others." Kim sat back against her pillows.

"You're a funny little thing," Shego said. "I put you in the hospital and all you can think about is how I look in civilian clothing."

"It never dawned on me that you might have real clothes…" Kim said trailing off.

"I'm only a super villain from nine pm to five am every other day, you know," Shego replied.

Kim shook her head, but quickly stopped as her head began to pound.

"No, I didn't," the redhead said sullenly. "whenever we cross paths we do nothing but fight."

"Don't look so saddened by this fact," Shego said. "we're not supposed to be friends."

"Why aren't we?"

"Because I'm me and you're you," Shego said simply.

The redhead frowned.

"Have you ever thought perhaps we're more alike than we'd like to admit?" Kim asked quietly.

Before Shego could answer, a group of rushed footsteps could be heard quickly approaching from the opposite end of the hall.

The raven-haired woman didn't reply but instead removed herself from her seat on the bed and gracefully climbed back into the ceiling.

"Oh Kim honey," Mrs. Doctor Possible exclaimed when she saw her only daughter laying there dejectedly on the bed. She entered the room flanked by the G.J. officials.

The older woman was almost an exact replica of her daughter, Shego noted. Full head of red hair, brilliant green eyes, and the lines on her face were barely visible.

"What happened?" the older redhead asked.

"I missed the block." Kim answered simply, with a shrug.

Shego smiled as she watched from her stilled position in the ventilation shaft.

"If you can remember what happened," Betty Director said to Kim. "We'll need a written statement."

"A sparing accident," Kim automatically replied, which was in fact the case. Nothing had been stolen due to Kim's accident.

Dr. Director looked at her oddly and shrugged. "If that's what you say."

"Are you implying that Kim might be lying?" Mrs. Doctor Possible asked.

"Not at all," Dr. Director replied. "As you well know sometimes things can be a little foggy after head injuries."

"Really," Kim insisted. "It's nothing to worry about."

It was a few hours later when Shego made it "home". She slipped in quietly and was greeted by her faithful Alaskan malamute.

"Good evening, Jake." The raven-haired woman paid attention to her animal before moving further into their "home".

"You must be here alone," she said to Jacob. He looked at her with a bored expression and made his way over to his giant pillow that took up a large portion of the floor.

Usually the third occupant of their large furnished hotel room would lock him inside the bedroom until Shego returned.

"How about a walk?" Shego asked him. His ears perked up slightly, as if he were a little bit interested but apparently not enough to get back up. "Lazy old man," Shego laughed.

Jacob covered his eyes with his paws and ignored her.

Shego resigned herself to taking a shower and dressing warmly in a black pair of sweat pants and a gray thermal. Winter was beginning to settle in and the last thing she wanted to do was catch a cold.

She made her way into the kitchen through a swinging door and was greeted by an extremely unpleasant sight. Shego completely lost her appetite. There were dirty dishes littered across throughout the kitchen; ones she had washed this morning before she'd made her way to work.

Groaning she set to fixing the kitchen back to the way she liked it... Clean. Two hours passed before the kitchen was up to her standards and she refused to cook anything for supper. Instead she did something she was completely against due to its unhealthiness: she ordered a pizza.

The marital artist yawned and traveled into her bedroom to retrieve a book off the shelf. She didn't linger in there long before she went back into the living room and lay down next to Jacob.

"How about a story then?" she asked him. He removed his paws and looked like he was prepared to pay attention to _Tom Clancy's Net Force_.

She read aloud until she had managed to lull him off to sleep before continuing to read to herself. A knock at the door alerted Jacob and they rose to greet the pizza delivery girl.

"Hello Lauren." Shego greeted.

"How's it goin' Sam?" Lauren responded. The two knew each other very well from spending hours together at school.

"Alright I suppose," Shego replied. "Busy night?"

"Something like that," Lauren answered. "Luckily you're the last call on my shift."

"Luckily?" Shego asked.

"Well yeah," the other girl said suddenly becoming nervous. "I was wondering if you were busy…"

Shego nearly deadpanned, she could hear Jacobs light whine from inside the hotel room, and knew she was in trouble.

"Actually I'm not busy," Shego answered with a shrug. "Jacob and I were going to go for a long walk," she replied, putting emphasis on the _long_. "Give me a second."

"I'll meet you in the lobby." Lauren replied.

Jacob tilted his head at her as she closed the door and set the pizza down near Jacob's pillow.

"Don't give me that look," She told him. "What am I supposed to do?"

He huffed.

"Some loyal companion you are." Shego muttered. "You're going."

Jacob whined.

"You know, just in case we run into…her." Shego said quietly. Jacob stopped his whining and waited by the door until Shego was ready.

She grabbed her shoes and threw on a coat. She leashed Jacob and walked down the hall to the stairway. Shego hated elevators; they were cramped and for lazy people. She patted Jacob's head and just as she opened the stairway door, the elevator next to it dinged.

"Fuck," She cursed in her head as she looked up and came face-to-face with the last person she wanted to see, surprisingly… her girlfriend.

"Samantha," the accented voice drawled as its owner stepped off the elevator.

Dark golden brown eyes stared into Shego's jade green ones.

"Neelam," she replied back.

Jacob barked. Apparently no one thought about him.

"I'll deal with you when you come back with the mutt," she said menacingly, bumping past the raven-haired girl.

Jacob growled lowly. He didn't like the way Neelam looked at his master and he didn't appreciate her calling him a mutt.

"He isn't a mutt." she defended.

"Whatever," was the reply Shego got.

Shego calmed Jacob and they jogged down the stairway.

Stepping out into the almost deserted lobby she spotted Lauren laughing and talking with one of the hotel staff she knew very well.

"And here comes Trouble," the older woman teased as she saw Shego and Jacob approach.

"Joy," Shego said in greeting. "Don't you have this thing regular people call a 'job'"

"Don't get sarcastic with me, young lady," Joy said. "I'm old enough to be your mother."

"And my grandmother," Shego quipped.

"Hey now," Joy laughed. "Are you three off to vandalize the neighborhood?"

"You better know it," Lauren said with a grin.

The two girls bid Joy farewell and left the hotel.

They walked in silence for a while watching Jacob as he sniffed various areas.

"You're still with her," Lauren remarked.

Shego nodded.

"I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not but yes."

"It's not a good thing," the other girl said.

Shego shrugged.

"Let's not talk about her." Shego said.

Lauren nodded.

"Are you going to winter formal?" she asked. "I heard we're having it with Middleton High."

"You've got to be joking…" Shego sighed.

"Nope, that's rumor anyway." Lauren said.

"No, I'm sure I'll be working that night." Shego responded.

"Well that's boring," the other girl said. "Don't you do anything besides work all the time?"

"I like working all the time, thank you."

Lauren laughed. "If my girlfriend was Neelam, I'd want to work all the time too."

"Lauren," Shego warned.

"My bad," Lauren grinned.

The two laughed and talked until Jacob had done his business and they made it full circle and were back in front of the hotel.

"Well, if you decide to go," Lauren said.

"You'll be the second to know," Shego said.

Lauren nodded and waved a goodbye.

When Shego and Jacob made it back up to the room, they quietly entered and Jake went right over to his pillow and lay down.

"Don't even think about that pizza old man," Shego warned him.

"Samantha," Neelam called from the small study the two shared.

Shego sighed, slipping her hands into her pockets and answering her call.

"What?" she answered, leaning against the doorway.

"Come here," Neelam said, without looking at the younger girl. She pointed to a spot on the floor next to her.

When Shego slowly came forward, Neelam turned toward her and pursed her lips lightly.

"How was your walk?" she said, raising her hand and trailing her it down Shego's tight stomach.

"Fine," the younger woman answered.

"and Lauren?" Neelam asked.

"Same ole," Shego shrugged.

"Mhmm…" The older woman stood using her left hand to push back the hair that had become loose away from Shego's face. "What happened to dinner?"

"I worked late," she answered.

The two lips that met her own were soft but dominant and Shego didn't fight them, instead she let them win, allowing their owner to deepen the kiss whenever she pleased. Neelam pulled back.

"Be a good girl and don't let me come from work to an empty home again…"

Shego nodded and all the nervous anticipation she'd been ignoring the last few minutes disappeared as Neelam's lips covered hers and she felt the older woman's body pressed against her own.


	2. Late Night Hunger

_**Chapter Two: Chicken Noodle Soup**_

"_Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure."_

Kim was oddly quiet on the way home, Mrs. Doctor Possible noted. The way the young redhead sat slumped into her seat, arms folded over her chest protectively, eyebrows furrowed together as she stared forward into apparent nothingness.

"You okay, sweetheart?"

Kim blinked a few times in confusion before she realized her mother asked her a question.

"Huh?"

"Are you alright?" Anne asked.

"Just a little headache..." Kim answered.

"A sparing accident eh?" the older redhead questioned.

"Something like that," Kim said. " I might have stretched the truth a little."

"To keep a master criminal out of trouble?"

"Not just any criminal," Kim said. "Shego."

"Was that supposed to help me understand some type of sensible point more clearly?"

"If I put Shego away, she'll just break out and be more of a nuisance than she was before she was caught." Kim replied. "My villains and I have an understanding. I'm not going to lock them away for something mundane. It'll just be a waste of both of our time."

Mrs. Possible stayed quiet. She could see where Kim was coming from with her line of thinking. She just didn't comprehend why Kim wouldn't want to put Shego away every chance she got. The brunette was dangerous, and although Kim had never reported that she had killed anyone, the other martial artist was more than capable. Anne frowned. Even if she hadn't, Kim had almost been her first victim.

"She saved me," Kim told her mother. The two were very talented at reading each other's minds through their facial expressions. "I entered the game, made a wrong move, and although she didn't have to, _Shego saved me_."

Anne nodded. At least that she was thankful for. She never considered that the two girls might have thought of their run-ins with each other to be like a game. Anne thought back to all the times she'd heard Kim speak of Shego. Her voice was never full of malice or contempt. It was filled with wonder and excitement; she was always so animated. Her body language would shift and her mood would brighten. It wasn't exactly something you would expect from someone who had just got done saving the world.

"She's special to you…"

Kim shrugged, even though her mother had hit the figurative nail on the head.

"You have no idea."

"Oh?"

"She's my first real combatant. We're like Yin and Yang. We feed off each other. We satisfy each other in a way no one else can." Kim continued to explain. "I think I need her..."

Anne could tell by the way Kim trailed off that she was no longer interested in talking about the villainess.

However, the younger woman continued to think about the other girl on her way home.

Closing her eyes, she went back to the way Shego looked as the villainess sat on her hospital bed. The older green-eyed girl had shown Kim a small glimpse into a side of her she'd never seen before. A side that showed actual remorse. It worried the redhead. She didn't want Shego to start going easy on her, as if the raven-haired woman would be under the impression she wouldn't be able to keep up when the fight really gets going.

Kim's lapse in judgment had ended them both up in a bad situation. Kim wanted to groan. What had actually happened was still foggy in her mind, but she knew Shego enough to know the other girl wouldn't lieto_ her_.

Did the two really need each other as much as the redhead thought they did? What would happen if they indeed found a way to put Shego away for long term? Shego was smart, fast and a fantastic fighter. Would she be able to find someone like Shego to match her fighting style? Who would flirt with her the way Shego did? The cogs in the redheads mind stopped spinning momentarily.

"Since when did Shego flirt?" Kim asked herself.

"You can't handle this, Pumpkin," she could hear Shego's taunting in her mind. Whether the other girl meant her words to be leaden with sexual innuendo, Kim didn't know.

It brought Kim's thinking to a few of Shego's other comments.

"Oh come on, Princess," Shego had laughed, blocking Kim's strikes with ease. "If you wanted to touch me, all you had to do was ask."

Kim felt a smile tugging at her lips. The raven-haired female was such a tease and probably didn't even realize it.

"We could go all night, but I'm almost sure you wouldn't be able to keep up," she remembered Shego trash talking some more.

"I'd go all night with you anytime..." Kim remembered replying. The expression on the other girls face became one of curiosity.

"Kim..." Anne called gently.

They were in front of the house. Kim had been so wrapped up in her thoughts she had failed to realize the car had stopped moving and her mother had exited the car.

The older redhead opened the car door for her daughter.

"Sorry," she said, slowly getting out of the car. The feeling of nausea that hit her was enough to cause her to reel back and grip the car door for stability. The redhead groaned, praying to any god that may be listening that her head would stop spinning.

"Take it easy," Anne replied. She managed to peel Kim's hand from the car door and get her to start moving.

The trip from the car into the house was much longer than Kim remembered it being.

"Kim!" Two voices called at once. She felt herself suddenly crushed between two smaller bodies. The bodies that belonged to her twin brothers Timothy and James.

"It's just a concussion you guys," Kim tried to reassure them she'd be fine, as she tried to keep her last meal down.

"We know," Jim said.

"But what if it had been worse?" Tim asked.

"We only have one sister!" they informed her simultaneously.

"You've got to be more careful, Kimmiecub." her father, James, told her from his position behind her brothers.

"I know, Dad," she responded. He moved passed her brothers and brought her in for a hug.

"Why don't you two help your sister to her room."

The two boys nodded and followed after their half-asleep sister, watching her closely as she climbed the stairs.

"Why are there so many of these?" she asked.

"You're the one who lives in the basement," Jim replied.

"Thinking you're all cool," Tim snickered.

"I could have had both had you two not came and ruined my plans of household domination," Kim said as they entered her room.

She went over to her closet and changed clothes as her brothers continued the conversation.

"Your love slave called," Jim said, changing the subject, "and she didn't sound very happy."

"That could be due to a number of things," Kim answered. "The cheerleading practice I missed, the student activities meeting I skipped out on. The AV clubs meeting I was supposed to sit in on. There's some kind of election I'm supposedly taking part in."

Kim rambled off a few things on the list she'd blown off to go and "play" with Shego.

"How I can take part in an election I have no clue about is beyond me." Kim sighed and tossed her dirty mission clothes into her laundry basket.

"We kind of told her you were in the hospital..." Jim said.

"What in the world would you do something like that for?" Kim asked. Her headache was suddenly becoming worse. "Why can't you two use your brains when it benefits me?"

"We thought you'd want her to know," Tim said. "We were doing you a favor, ungrateful brat."

"What kind of girlfriend doesn't want her girlfriend to know she's in the hospital?" Jim asked.

"It sounds like Shego busted her over the head a little too hard," Jim muttered to Tim.

"Get out," Kim told them as she slipped her pajama shirt over her head.

"Fine," Tim said. "That's the last time we try and do anything nice for you."

The young boy was met with a cuddle buddy to the face.

"Out!"

The boys left, making sure to slam her door extra hard on their way out.

She sighed, now she had another dilemma and her name was Bonnie.

"Why do all the women in my life cause me such problems," Kim wondered to herself aloud.

She retrieved her cell phone from her computer desk. Turning it on, she discovered a barrage of text messages and missed phone calls. She decided to ignore them and call the girl she claimed as her own.

Kim paced back and forth across her room as she waited for the brunette to answer.

"Kim!" Bonnie exclaimed when she finally picked up the phone. Kim was happy to hear that Bonnie sounded more relieved than upset.

"Hey you," Kim responded, a little more tiredly than she meant to.

"Are you okay? Your brothers weren't very helpful information-wise," Bonnie said.

"They aren't helpful at all," Kim muttered.

"Kim..."

"I'll be fine in a few days," Kim told her. "My doctors pulled me out for the time being."

"And your saving the world antics?"

"Put on hold unless in the case of extreme emergency," Kim responded. "It looks like you'll be carrying the bulk of our popularity."

"Hun," Bonnie chuckled. "How many times do I have to tell you? You are not popular!"

"You're right," Kim said with a smile. "I've surpassed such a petty level."

"Mhmm..." Bonnie laughed.

"I'm like a goddess," Kim told her. "Magical powers and everything."

"Keep lying to yourself," Bonnie said. "Whatever helps you sleep better at night."

"You help me sleep better at night," Kim said. She waited a few seconds as the girl on end of the phone line became very quiet.

"Don't tease me Kim, it isn't nice," Bonnie said, finally.

"I wasn't teasing you. I was serious."

"I don't exactly know how to respond to that."

"I've got an idea."

"I'm listening..."

"That's a new trick," Kim joked.

"Shut up and tell me already!"

"Pick one, I can't do both," Kim retorted.

"Kimberly!" Bonnie exclaimed, becoming slightly frustrated.

"Come over," The redhead said.

"Your parents..."

"Your point?" Kim asked. "I want you here with me. They aren't going to say anything."

"Right. Your parents aren't going to say anything about me sleeping with their daughter in their house while they're there," Bonnie quipped. " I find that difficult to believe."

"The rules have always been made for boys," Kim said. "Girls just never seemed to be an option in my dad's mind."

"So you're going to exploit the loophole?" Bonnie asked. "That doesn't sound like you."

"If you're that worried about it you don't have to come," Kim said. She wasn't going to talk Bonnie into doing something she wasn't comfortable with.

"Sorry babe," Bonnie said. She really would have enjoyed coddling her spoiled girlfriend to death but couldn't help feel it was mildly inappropriate since Kim's parents were in the dark about their relationship.

"Don't worry about it," Kim said. "As long as you come by tomorrow afternoon."

"And if I don't?" Bonnie asked purely out of curiosity.

"Then you'll have hell to pay," Kim warned. "Or you could bring me a make up bento filled with goodies."

"If you keep eating that much sushi you'll turn into a fish."

"One can only hope," Kim said with a laugh.

"Night Kim."

"Night."

The redhead hung up the phone and stretched her limbs.

"You hiding pets from me, Princess?" a voice Kim new very well said from the window.

"Pet?" Kim questioned, turning toward the source of the voice to find Shego perched on her windowsill. She wasn't interested in where the other girl had come from, she was, of course, interested in knowing why she was there.

"Formally referred to as 'girlfriends'," the raven haired girl clarified.

"Bonnie is not a pet," Kim informed her.

"Well if she isn't..." Shego trailed off, letting the redhead's mind wonder.

"Are you insinuating I am?" the redhead asked with a half-assed glare. All Kim managed to do was produce a small chuckle from Shego.

It was a beautiful sound Kim tired to ignore.

"Why are you here?" Kim asked as she walked over to her bed and plopped down.

"Work was boring," Shego replied.

The older girl entered the room, ignoring the odd look she received from the redhead, and removed a backpack Kim had failed to notice she was wearing.

"And that led you here?" Kim asked.

"Well, I got to thinking about what you said earlier," Shego replied. "You know. About us having excellent potential for being 'friends'."

"I take it you came to a conclusion."

Shego shrugged.

"Let's hear it then."

"Kim Possible and Shego can never be friends..." Shego said.

"Didn't you say that earlier?" Kim huffed.

"Will you let me finish?" Shego snapped. "Impatient little Imp."

When Shego was sure she wouldn't be interrupted again, she continued.

"Shego and Kim Possible may not be able to be friends, but what's to stop Samantha and Kim?"

"Who's Samantha?" Kim asked.

"I'm going to need you to follow the conversation," Shego said. "I know your head's still a bit fuzzy."

"Your name is Samantha?"

"Don't get used to calling me that," Shego warned her. "It's just a boundary for the time being."

"Like two different people..." Kim mumbled. "What's your primary ego's last name?"

"Don't you think it's a little early in this 'friend' thingy to give out personal information like that?" Shego asked to be a pain.

"Don't be a brat," Kim said.

"I'm to old to be a brat," Shego said. "Unlike some redheaded girl I know."

"Are you going to tell me or not?" Kim asked. She was tired and getting more grumpy by the second.

"Orrick," the raven-haired girl said. "Samantha Orrick."

The older girl perched on the end of Kim's bed and unzipped the backpack. Kim watched closely as her nemesis pulled out a thermos. She blinked blankly a few times when Shego held it out for her to take.

"Poison?" Kim asked accepting it.

"Close," Shego said. "Chicken noodle soup."

"Can or homemade?" Kim asked.

"Don't insult me," Shego said. "I don't eat anything out of a can."

Kim nodded and took a small sip, testing how hot it was.

"Someone said this crap was good for the soul," Shego said producing her own thermos. "Well, for those of us who still have them."

The redhead smirked. Shego's social skills were better than she would have expected them to be.

"How can I wipe that look off your face?" Shego asked. She stared at the other girl with one of her delicate eyebrows raised.

"You can't," Kim said her smirk turning into a wide grin. "It's stuck there."

"I bet I could prove other wise..." Shego told her.

"I bet you could too," Kim said, watching Shego closely as the other girl looked at her thermos. Kim was very aware of what was going on behind the raven-haired woman's beautiful green eyes.

She took a long sip of the delicious soup and sighed contently.

Why she was so trusting of this Shego she didn't know, but she was sure glad she did.

"This is amazing," Kim complimented.

Shego nodded.

Kim attempted to finish off the rest of her soup in one go but didn't quite make her goal. She had been a lot hungrier than she had expected.

"Easy there, Kimmie," Shego wasn't sure if she wanted to shake her head at the girls antics or laugh. "There's more and no one is going to take it from you."

"How do you know?" Kim asked.

"Because I know!" Shego told her.

"Yeah but how do you know?" Kim asked again.

"I know everything," Shego informed her.

"No you don't," Kim challenged. "You don't know anything."

"How do you know?" Shego asked, turning the conversation back on its starter.

"Cause I know everything," Kim replied with a wink.

"You don't know shit."

"And you know everything?"

"Fuckin' right."

Kim finally managed to coax a grin that mirrored her own from the other girl. It wasn't her usual predatory ones. It was a simple smile with only one emotion behind it, happiness.

Shego looked around the other girl's room and took note of how bright it was. The shelves on the walls, expect for one, were neat. Shego cringed; the disorderly shelf contained a mountain of disturbing cuddle buddies.

"Do they bother you?" Kim asked, watching Shego's grin slip away when she noticed the stuffed animals.

"I always feel like they're watching me," Shego said.

Kim's grin darkened.

"It's because they are!" the redhead responded in the most unnerving deep voice she could create.

"That's not even remotely funny," Shego said while laughing.

Kim shrugged, and killed off the rest of her soup.

"More please!"

"Only if you call off your creepy cuddle critter army," Shego said. She looked completely serious.

Kim laughed nervously, not really sure what to say, until the other girl smiled and shook her head.

Shego took the thermos and poured Kim some more soup.

"You've got a good apatite," Shego commented.

"I used to have a mini refrigerator but my mother made me get rid of it," Kim said. "Apparently it's just supposed to be a bedroom and not an apartment."

"I could see how the refrigerator could become a problem," Shego said. "With all the different schedules this house runs on, you'd never see each other."

Kim nodded, sipping her soup.

"You should sleep," Shego said, looking down at her watch.

"You shouldn't worry about my sleeping habits," Kim replied.

"I could hit you again, you know," Shego warned. "You'd be out cold for a few good hours."

"I don't like that plan," Kim replied.

She didn't want to go to sleep, she wanted to stay up and talk to Shego while she ate her soup. She had all week to lie in bed and do nothing.

"Have you always been a spoiled brat or is this a new trick you're pulling out of the bag?"

"Kind of," Kim said. "I'm use to getting what I want, hence the reason I have a job."

"An actual J.O.B?" Shego asked spelling out the word as if Kim wouldn't know what it was other wise.

"Yes," Kim laughed. "Where I get a specific amount of money for spending a certain amount of time doing a certain task."

"I used to have job," Shego said, her eyes glazing over in mischief. "We called it 'joy riding' but the courts called it 'Grand Theft Auto'."

"You used to lift cars?" Kim asked. The redhead's headache had disappeared along with her soup.

"Yeah, it was so much fun," she said. "Only one downside."

"And that was?"

"No skilled martial artists," Shego replied. "So I need a career change."

"Have you found the right one?"

"I found you, didn't I?" she said. "So until you lock me away for good, you're stuck with me."

"How can you make that sound like such a good thing?"

"I'm talented."

"Fighting me is the only reason you do your job?"

Shego pursed her lips in thought. She wouldn't exactly say Kim was the only reason, but it was pretty close, in her opinion.

"The money's good too," Shego answered. "Insurance is the best I've ever seen."

"You're terrible."

"Difference of opinions," the raven-haired girl said.

Shego's cell phone interrupted the continuation of the conversation.

Pulling it out of her boot pocket, she sighed as she looked at the caller.

"Yes, Neelam?" Shego answered.

"What are you doing?" the Middle Eastern woman asked.

"Working," Shego lied. "The same thing I'm always doing when I'm not at home."

"I was just making sure you weren't out with someone woman," Neelam's accented voice said in warning.

"Don't be ridiculous," Shego responded. "Go to bed."

The line went dead and Shego huffed out of annoyance.

"Pet problems?" Kim inquired. Due to Shego's close proximity, she heard every word from Neelam clearly.

"Something like that," Shego responded. "She's a subject we aren't deep enough into our 'friendship' to breech yet."

Kim nodded.

"I didn't take you for a liar," the redhead said.

"She's a gray area," Shego said.

The two quieted, their playful spirits died down slightly.

Kim again took this time to stare at the other girl.

"That's not polite, you know..."

"Your ears aren't pierced," Kim noted, ignoring her statement.

"My family doesn't do piercings," Shego said. "Or tattoos for that matter."

"You never struck me as a tattoo type of person."

Shego shook her head.

"My body is a temple."

Kim sat back on her pillows and finished off the second thermos of soup. The silence between the two girls was making her eyelids droop and soon she was sound asleep.

Shego's eyebrows rose when she heard the redhead's even breathing pattern.

The younger woman wasn't even underneath her blankets. Shego sighed and stood up from her spot on the bed. She removed the empty thermos from Kim's grasp and slid it into her backpack, slipping that on as she moved back over to the bed. Sliding her arms underneath Kim's legs, she lifted them just enough to pull the redhead's blankets back. She placed her legs in what appeared to be a comfortable position and tucked her in as if she were a child.

"Sam," Kim mumbled, barely awake enough to say Shego's whole first name.

"Yes?"

"See you later."

"For sure," the raven-haired girl replied. Then she was gone.


	3. Balancing act

_Author's Note: I love Wednesday's. They make me happy when skies are gray. Then again, so does reviews. I suppose I'm easily pleased by small seemingly insignificant things. Enjoy._

_**Chapter Three: Balancing act.**_

"_It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us."_

Shego entered her home after another boring night at work. She was sure that if she filed her nails down anymore she wouldn't have any. They'd begun growing more rapidly than they had the past few days and were annoying her.

The raven haired woman greeted Jacob and moved deeper into the room, ignoring her bedroom, she went straight to the shower. Even though she hadn't done anything but sit on her ass and chat it up with Kim Possible she felt the need to take one.

That night the two girls had first had together after Kim's accident became something of a nightly occurrence. Whether Shego stayed for thirty minutes or several hours they were sure to make time for each other.

Tonight was a bit different, a turning point in their 'friendthingy' as Shego so lovingly referred to it as. They spoke about many different topics and Shego even managed to get the other girl to admit she would miss her if she were to be away for a long time. What made this night so much more particular than the others was a small simple action from the small redhead.

Kim had given Shego her phone number. The raven haired girl had stared at the piece of paper Kim slipped to her when she left, much to the redhead's amusement.

"It's just a number," Kim had told her teasingly. "It's not going to transform into something else."

Kim had been wrong. It had transformed into something else. It took their 'friendthingy' to a whole different level, a more personal level in Shego's opinion. Even if she hadn't given Kim the number to her own cellular device. The lines of communication between the two opened immensely with this simple action.

She washed off quickly and got out of the shower. Wrapping herself in her robe she exited the bathroom and entered her bedroom for the first time since she'd been home. Closing the door she quietly she pulled out something to wear and prepared to get dressed.

"Is breakfast ready?" A voice from the bed behind her asked.

"No," Shego said, drying off. "It's three in the morning."

"Come here," Neelam said sitting up. Shego complied with Neelam's demand. The tone in which the older woman spoke to her didn't even faze her anymore. She was use to it.

She pulled back the sheets and moved over giving Shego the warm half of the bed.

The raven haired girl pulled off her robe and slid between the sheets.

She sighed contently as she felt Neelam's lips trail over her naked flesh. It seemed she was breakfast, which didn't bother her very much.

What did bother her was while her girls hands drifted lower and lower her thoughts weren't on Neelam. They were on a certain redhead that probably lay sleeping in her own bed at that moment.

"Where ever your mind is," Neelam whispered giving her a hard nip on the delicate skin between Shego's neck and her shoulder. "It not being here will definitely get you into a position you don't want to be in."

Shego turned her head to make eye contact with her girlfriend.

" What would you do if I went to prison?" Shego asked. "You know, for a long time."

"Get a new rich girlfriend." Neelam answered honestly. "There's nothing else I could do."

"Would you even care?" Shego inquired raising up and resting on her elbows.

"What is this twenty-one questions?" Neelam huffed.

"I just want to know if my girlfriend would give a damn if I disappeared for months at a time." Shego responded in an annoyed fashion.

"Watch your tone." Neelam told her.

"Answer my question." Shego said ignoring her demand. She didn't care about the potential ramification of this action.

"Samantha..." Neelam said now visibly becoming angry.

"Just say 'no', it's not that hard to tell me the truth," The raven haired girl pressured.

The hand that struck Shego connected with such force that it sent the younger female over the side of the bed. Her head connected with the hard wooden bedside table before she hit the floor.

"Dammit," She cursed. The tight grip she felt on her hair did nothing to stop her spinning world.

"I don't know why you make me do these things." Shego heard the other woman say before her head was rammed into their carpet covered floor. "If you'd just be a good girl and do as you're told we wouldn't have this problem."

Shego heard Jacob growling and clawing at the door trying to get inside. She didn't know why she closed the door in the first place. She always left it open.

"Only a dog could be so loyal to such a fuck up," Neelam hissed. She released the raven haired woman's hair and wiped the blood that had accumulated on her hand from Shego's head on their bedding.

"Now clean this place up. I want dinner by six thirt." With that the other woman was gone.

Shego felt the cool air that blew across her as Neelam opened the door and left. Jacob came over and sniffed her a few times, giving her a few licks of affection.

Shego reached out for the dog and he laid beside her, snuggling against her naked form to provide her some warmth.

Kim's morning was very different than her new friend Samantha's.

She woke up to an amazing smelling breakfast and bounded down the stairs like a happy kid on Christmas morning.

"You've been in a genuinely good mood lately." Anne Possible said. "Waking up with a smile on your face, birds chirping a song just for you, the sun only rising because you decided it was time for the day."

"That's right," Kim grinned sitting down in between the two twins who were focusing on their gaming devices. "You know the world revolves around me."

"Sure it does Kimmiecub." James Possible said sitting down at his place at the table.

"Don't lie to her dad," Tim said.

"She's conceited enough." Jim added.

"Now boys don't kill your sisters good morning."

"You two are such haters." Another voice that didn't belong to a Possible added in.

Ron brought another chair over to the table and squeezed in forcing Jim to scoot over.

"Good morning, Ronald." Anne said, bringing food to the table."

"Morning Mrs. Doctor P."

"Don't you have a home?" Jim asked.

"With parents and a sister of your own?" Tim snickered.

"That's enough boys," James said. "Ron's always welcome here."

"Too welcome," Tim said to be a jerk.

"Stuff it Tweeb." Kim told him.

"Time to put the haterade away. Okay?" Ron said adding a pancake to his plate. "Ready to go back to school KP?"

"Ready as I'll ever be." She said, adding food to her own plate.

"You've missed out on a few things since you've been away but not as much as you normally would have since Bonnie's been handling a lot of everything for you."

"I thought you and Bonnie weren't on good terms." James said.

"Oh no Dad," Jim said. "They're on very good terms."

"Very very good terms." Tim butted in.

"That's enough," James warned for the last time.

"Why don't you two go find something better to do than to harass your sister." Anne said

"I didn't know there was something better." Jim said.

"Go," Anne told them.

"But breakfast."

"Take some to go." She told them. They huffed and took their plates of food into the kitchen.

Kim and Ron held in laughs. It wouldn't be appropriate from them to laugh at that point in time, but they'd definitely get it in later.

"Where's the rodent?" James asked.

"Asleep," Ron said. "He's a late riser."

"Lucky him." Anne said.

Breakfast passed with a little chit chat before everyone was off to their respective destinations.

"Try to avoid saving the world for a little longer." James told Kim as he walked her to the door. Ron and the twins were already outside waiting for her.

"I can't promise anything." Kim said.

"Why don't you invite Bonnie over for dinner," James suggested. "She's just as welcome over here as Ron."

"What would give you the idea Bonnie would want to come over here?" Kim asked.

"I'm a rocket scientist, Kimmiecub."

"Bonnie has no correlation to rocket science."

"Rocket science, birds an the bees, raising kids," James said. "They're all associated somehow."

"I would ask you to connect the dots for me but I've got school." Kim said exiting the house.

Her parents, well at least her father, wasn't as unaware of things as she figured he was. If he knew, then she was almost certain her mother knew. Her father wasn't one to think before he spoke about certain things.

The ride to school was short, her brothers in the backseat still playing their games as Ron rambled on about some winter dance their school was having.

"We're suppose to have it with another school," He said. "Which school they haven't revealed yet."

"How many other high schools are there close to Middleton?"

"Three I guess," Ron said. "Upperton, Lowerton, and..."

"That private all girls school." Tim said. "Do they count?"

"I don't think a private school would mix a function with a public school." Jim said. "Even if the girls are totally hot."

"I wonder what school Sam goes to..." Kim wondered aloud.

"Who's Sam?" Ron asked. "Do I know her?"

"No," Kim said shaking her head. "She's this really shy girl I know."

Ron shrugged as they pulled up to the school.

It was around six thirty when Shego finally decided she'd spent enough time laying next to Jacob on the floor. Neelam had left long ago and the raven haired girl needed to get ready for school.

She winced as pulled her head away from the carpet. Dry blood connected her wound with the carpeting. She hadn't cared at the time but now she realized it was an extremely bad idea. The carpets pulled away the dry blood and it started flowing freshly again. She'd probably need stitches again but wasn't going to waste her time getting them.

She opened her closet and pulled out a school uniform. Why she even went to school was beyond her, but she told herself that she should at least have a high school diploma just in case on the off chance, she did get bored enough to pick up college as a hobby.

She put on her underwear and pulled on the plaid black, gray and yellow skirt to her uniform. She laid the shirt on her bed and entered the bathroom. She was almost certain she wouldn't be able to hide all the bruises that had formed this time. They were to dark to cover up with make up.

She sighed and wondered why she hadn't just kept her mouth shut. Neelam was right. She had been asking for it.

"You chose this," Shego told her reflection.

Jacob watched as his master talked to herself from the bathroom doorway.

She tried to cover the bruises as best she could hiding the large gash with her hair and the budding shiner she had with sunglasses.

Her teachers were so use to her wearing sunglasses to class they stopped arguing with her to take them off.

Shego heard her door open and close but wasn't worried by this fact. She knew who it was and wasn't surprised when her guest found her shirtless in the bathroom.

"I thought you would have been long gone by now," Joy said before she got a good look at the younger woman. "She sure did a number on you this time."

"Tell me about it," Shego groaned. "If I'd just learn to shut the fuck up I wouldn't have half the problems I do."

Joy frowned.

"Have you lost your mind?" The old woman asked. "Is that the bullshit she's knocking into you?"

"Not now," Shego said. "Can you get the carpet cleaned for me before she gets home?"

"Of course I can." She replied. "Jake needs a walking I take it."

Shego nodded on her way out of the bathroom.

She pulled on her pale yellow uniform shirt and tucked it in. She wasn't like the other girls at her school that wore their uniforms incorrectly.

"Try not to run into her if you can avoid it," Shego told Joy. "I know how you like to give her a piece of your mind."

"I can't make any promises." Joy said.

"I'm not asking you to." Shego said. She slid on her shoes and followed Joy into the living room. She picked up her back pack, located her uniform hat and gathered her sweater.

"Be a good boy for Joy," Shego stooped down and hugged Jacob, giving him a kiss on the nose she stood and bid Joy a good day.

"You're so spoiled," Joy said to the dog watching as his owner disappeared down the stairwell.

People that didn't know Shego gave her a funny look when she exited the hotel and went to locate her car. She huffed, was it so hard to believe she lived there and paid something akin to what normal people called rent.

She pulled out of the garage and took her time getting to school she was nearly there when a familiar brunette pulled up next to her at a red light.

"Staying out of trouble I see," Betty Director pretended she was interested in her rear view mirror.

"Something like that," Shego said.

"Sunglasses this early in the morning?" the older woman asked.

"Yeah, it's pretty bright out isn't it?" Shego replied and Betty nodded. She knew better by now than to think Shego was just being strange.

"Have a good day at school." Betty called.

The light turned green and Shego pulled off.

Betty was more of a friend than the raven haired girl liked to think she was. Director always claimed Shego would be the downfall of her career but never gave up trying to keep the villainess out of prison. The Global Justice official shared the same view as Kim when it came to Shego and prison.

She pulled into an empty parking space and got out of her car.

Lauren was by her side in a second.

"We're having a student activities meeting today. We're meeting up with the guys from Middleton to get a final outline of the rules for this shindig."

"And I absolutely have to go?" Shego said. "Can I lie and say I have a doctors appointment."

"You're ASB president and never want to attend the meetings." Lauren scolded. "You're suppose to be setting an example for future leaders."

"Lauren, my Junior friend, you are next years president." Shego reminded her.

Lauren ignored her comment.

"It won't take that long and you'll get to skip out on sixth period."

"I like my sixth period." Shego said. "especially when Ms. Wanger is using the larger world map..."

"Don't be a pervert," Lauren said.

"Is it my fault my Environmental Science teacher is a hot twenty-eight year old? Shego asked. "I think not!"

"Ms. Wanger is not hot," Lauren argued. "She's average."

"Average and hot have nothing to do with each other." Shego said. "You'll understand once you hit puberty."

"Don't even go there." Lauren snapped. "Just because I don't think like a horny teenage boy doesn't mean I haven't hit puberty."

"Well that and you aren't into girls." Shego said.

"I hate you," was all she got in reply.

Kim tapped her pen against her desk as she tuned out her trigonometry teacher. His voice was the most boring thing Kim could have sworn she'd ever heard. When the bell rang she was nearly the first to scamper out of class. Happy to finally be given the chance to stretch her legs.

"Don't try to slip off to that bullshit art class of yours." Bonnie laughed from behind her.

"Why does everyone find the need to make fun of my art class." Kim asked, grasping Bonnie's hand with her own.

"You can't draw to save your life, Babe." Bonnie said.

"How do you know?"

"I've seen your 'works of art'." Bonnie said putting emphasis on her words with air quotes.

"For once I agree with Ms. Bitch." Monique entered their conversation as she flanked Kim's right side.

"Why is every position in activities filled with your friends?" Bonnie asked Kim.

Bonnie spent a lot of her energy blocking out everything Monique had to say. She often told Kim just the sound of the other girls voice made her cringe. When the two weren't ignoring each other, they were arguing. It made Kim not want to be around them both at the same time if she could avoid it.

"What can I say?" Kim answered. "They need lives too."

"I have a life," Monique said. "If it wasn't for thespians I wouldn't be on ASB."

"What do you do anyway?" Bonnie said. "Your position serves no purpose."

"You aren't even in ASB!" Monique pointed out. "What loser attends all the meetings and isn't even an officer."

"As cheerleading captain I'm required to go."

"Is she still living in the delusional world were she is on top of the pyramid?" Monique asked Kim.

The redhead shook her head. She'd learned her lesson a long time ago about jumping into Bonnie and Monique's quarrels.

"Don't try and drag her into this." Bonnie growled.

"Will you two just cut it out please?" Kim asked. "My position on ASB is the only one that matters anyway."

"Fine be your own secretary then." Felix said rolling up behind them.

"Oh, Felix don't act all butt hurt," Bonnie said. "You don't see Monique having a problem being useless."

"Go fuck yourself," Monique snapped. "That's what's wrong with you. Kim apparently isn't doing her job."

"Like that's suppose to hurt coming from the sexually confused black girl," Bonnie retorted

"Ladies!" Kim yelled. "That's enough."

"How do you deal with these two?" Felix asked Kim. "It's one cat fight after another."

"A good pair of ear plugs and telling them to shut up about every ten minutes works wonders." Kim said. "Gives them enough time to get some of the negative energy out."

"Stop talking about us like we aren't here." Bonnie told Kim.

"We wish you weren't."

"Moni'…" Kim began.

"Fine." The other girl said. "I'll meet you in the library."

"That's where the meeting is?" Kim asked Bonnie.

"You're a terrible president." Felix said with a laugh. "We could be the useless ASB triforce."

"I'll only officially join if we get patches for our jackets." Kim said. "And they have to look cool."

"Like I'd design anything else." Monique said before leaving.

"See you in a few," Felix told Kim, taking off after Monique.

"He's such a cute little puppy," Bonnie said.

"You need to be nice to my friends." Kim said. "If I can't hang out with them and you at the same time I'll be forced to try and make enough time for everyone."

They made their way to Bonnie's sixth period. Kim could be a little late. They wouldn't start the meeting without her.

"I can't get along with Monique." Bonnie said. "Her mere presence drives me to say something rude. What am I suppose to do when the first name out of her mouth for me is Ms. Bitch?"

"Laugh?" Kim offered. "If I wouldn't get cussed out for it I totally would have."

"Kim."

"I'll talk to her," The redhead promised. "If and only if you come to dinner tonight."

"At your house?" Bonnie asked. "With your odd parents and the terrible two?"

"Yes," Kim said. "and I think my dad would be insulted if you didn't show up."

"Why would he care?"

"He wanted me to invite you." Kim said. "You can't be my girlfriend and completely avoid my family."

"Are you trying to guilt trip me, Possible?"

"Just say you'll come."

"I'll come."

"Awesome," Kim said leaning over and giving Bonnie a kiss as they stopped in front of the brunettes last class. "Dinners at seven."

Shego and Lauren sat together in the library of Middleton high across from two boys from their brothering school. She didn't really know what to expect from this meeting. All that was for sure is the two schools needed to find common ground on some of the rules regarding the dance, the differences between public schools rules and private school rules were vast.

The door to the library opened and two people Shego instantly recognized entered the room.

"Hey there," Monique greeted as they walked over to the table. "I'm Monique."

"Lauren," She said making introductions. "and this is Samantha."

"Felix," The wheelchair bound boy announced.

They made introductions with the two boys and sat down to wait.

"Are we expecting someone else?" One of the boys asked.

"Our president," Felix answered. "Ten dollars she bailed."

"If this was something like an AV meeting I'd totally take that bet." Monique replied.

"Your president likes to skip out on you too?" Lauren asked looking at Shego while shaking her head.

Shego scoffed.

"That's right Lauren, talk about me as if I'm not here."

"I planned on it."

Monique and Felix turned to look at each other. "Samantha's" voice sounded oddly familiar. They just wished she wasn't wearing the sunglasses.

The conversation came to a halt as the library door opened again and in came the redhead they'd been waiting for.

"Yes people there's no need to fear," Kim said making some outlandish hero stance. "Kim Possible is here."

"You shouldn't rip catch phrases from cartoon dogs." Shego told the redhead.

"And you shouldn't wear sunglasses in poorly lit rooms." Kim told the other girl.

"Point taken," Shego said.

Kim came over and greeted the three people in the room she didn't know.

"So what schools are you guys from." Monique asked.

"Bosco and Lillian." Lauren asked. "They're sibling private schools."

"Sibling?" Felix asked.

"Boys. Girls." Shego answered simply.

"So lets get these rules to a nice medium shall we?" Monique proposed with a smile.


	4. Stage One: Initiate Hyper healing

Well here it is.

_**Chapter Four: Stage One:**__** Initiate**__** Hyper healing.**_

"_Who are you to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually who are you _not _to be?"_

Shego's afternoon was peaceful since she was home alone with Jacob. Classical music sounded in the background and flowed through every room at a nice volume Shego could put up with.

The raven haired woman sat on the counter flipping through one of her recipe books. The kitchen was her domain in the house. Her own little safe place since Neelam only came into it about once a month. Dinner was already in the oven but as she delved deeper she couldn't help but want to try making something else.

"Put the book down," Shego told herself. She hopped off the counter and slid the book back into it's place on the shelf.

Shego had yet to change out of her school uniform, so she decided that would be her next step. She lightly danced her way into the bedroom. She shuffled through her house clothes and pulled on a pair of basketball shorts and a white T shirt. The house was warm so she wasn't worried about getting sick.

She went into the bathroom and got a fresh wash cloth out of the cabinet. Walking over to the sink she turned on the warm water and washed away the make up she'd applied earlier.

"What the?" She lifted her hair up and moved closer to the mirror. A small line appeared where her head had been sliced open by the bedside table. The bruises she'd accumulated that morning were gone but the ring around her eye remained.

She blinked a few times thinking maybe the image in front of her would change and reveal to her what her face really looked like, but it didn't. Instead her own confused green eyes stared back at her.

"Bitch you're trippin'." Shego said to her reflection.

She dried her face and moved into the living room. She dialed a familiar room number and was happy when its owner answered.

"Trouble," Joy answered.

"Could you come up here for a second?" Shego asked. "I just need to make sure I'm not losing my mind."

"Sure, give me a few."

Shego hung up the phone and went to check on her dinner.

There was a knock at the door a few minutes later and Shego greeted the older woman.

"I knew you young people could be speedy healers but my goodness," Joy said looking her over. "Vitamin C?"

"This is no time for jokes." Shego said. "My head was so wide open this morning I needed stitches and now."

Joy held in a laugh as Shego uncharacteristically pointed at her forehead.

The older woman shrugged.

"I don't know what to tell you." She said. "I've been around a long time and I've never seen anything like this before."

Shego sighed and rubbed the little scar on her forehead that seemed to have gotten smaller since the last time she'd touched it.

The two chatted a while before Joy left. Shego took to straightening the already clean home. She looked down at her watch and wondered what was taking her girlfriend so long. Six thirty had come and gone and it was getting closer and closer to the time Shego had to leave for work.

Shego fixed her own plate and fed Jacob his share of dinner. She sat on the living room couch and the two ate in relative silence. The classical music that had been playing had ended a few minutes prior and Shego didn't feel like starting it over.

It was nine forty-five by the time Shego heard the key card slipping into the door and it unlocking turned Jacob's attention away from his food. Shego ignored the new occupant of the house. Her blood was boiling as she suddenly felt herself become angrier than she'd ever felt before.

"Samantha," Neelam said as she took off her coat and hung it on the rack next to Shego's uniform sweater. "Don't be rude, you heard me come in."

"Welcome home," Shego forced through clenched teeth.

Neelam sighed from behind her.

"I suppose I deserve that," Neelam said. "Now be a good girl and get my dinner while I change."

Shego rolled her eyes.

"You did set out my clothes didn't you?" Neelam asked as she walked down the hall to their bedroom.

Shego didn't answer but instead got off the couch to make Neelam's plate. The last place she wanted the other woman was messing around in her orderly kitchen.

"I'd like dinner today, Samantha." Neelam said from the living room.

"Then maybe you should have been home at the time you said you'd be." She retorted before she could catch herself.

The raven haired woman shrugged she was already in for it, she may as well give the other woman a good piece of her mind.

"Tone," Came the warning from the living room.

"Time," Shego said. "It looks like we're both having problems with meanings behind four letter words beginning with T."

"I've had about enough of you today." Neelam said.

"I've had a good healthy dose of you too." Shego said. "But if you're going to bitch about something and demand it a certain fucking way, be here for it."

Before Shego knew what she was doing the plate she held in her hand had been throw at the nearest wall. The defenseless dish fell to the floor shattering on impact.

The kitchen door swung open slowly and the middle eastern woman stepped through it, but Shego ignored her. The fury in which her body shook with was scaring her more that the thought of anything Neelam could do. She wasn't even sure where this was all coming from, all she knew is that if she didn't get a grasp on it soon, things would become much worse.

"I understand you're upset about this morning..."Neelam began.

"Shut up," Shego told her. "You don't understand."

Neelam's facial expression became dark as her hands clenched into fists.

"What?" Shego asked. "You want to hit me? Why the hell not it's all you ever do anyway. You come home bitch about how I don't do anything right and then tell me how much you love me. The only thing you do consistently in the relationship is knock me on my ass."

When Neelam stayed quiet and Shego continued.

"What are you going to do the day I fight back?" Shego asked rhetorically. "What are you going to do when I stop paying the bills? What are you going to do when you can't afford this place by yourself?"

"That mouth will always be your downfall." Neelam told her.

"And yet it's the only reason you're still with me." Shego snapped. "I probably wouldn't even be this angry had you just picked up the phone. It's not that hard and it doesn't take that much energy. I'm the first fucking number on speed dial!"

Shego started to breathe evenly and her body stopped shaking. Now she was just tired.

"I ask simple things of you Samantha." Neelam said stepping toward her slowly. "Keep the house orderly, prepare dinner at a decent hour, set my clothing out. Things you should be happy to do for me, and here we are you complaining about the few duties around this place that you have."

Shego was so tired she didn't notice frying pan that was coming at her until it was too late. The two women swore they heard something crack as it connected with Shego's chest. The raven haired woman felt the air escape from her lungs and didn't have enough time before she was struck with the offending object again this time to the head.

"You force me to do such things," Neelam said as she climbed on top of the raven haired girl, She raised the frying pan above her head and prepared to bring it down with as much force as she could. "If only you'd be good."

"Jake!" Shego called as she curled into the fetal position. The large dog didn't have to be called twice.

He attacked his masters assailants clothes, forcing her off Shego. He knew better than to actually bite Neelam but did as much damage with his claws as he could.

"Fucking animal," Neelam yelled, Jacob backed out of the way of her swinging the frying pan. He didn't get closer again but he stayed in between Shego and Neelam. He growled warningly that if she came near them she wouldn't receive just a few scratches.

Shego couldn't get the bleeding to stop long enough for her to be able to open her eyes so she could see where she was going. The swinging door pushed open as she ran into it. She grabbed her school uniform sweater from off the rack and opened their room door. She held her sweater to the wound. Jacob followed her out of the door and they took their stairwell down to the lower level and exited out of an emergency exit in order to avoid people in the lobby.

Shego heard emergency alarms ring but that didn't stop her from running as fast as she could away from the hotel.

She didn't have her cell phone, no money, and she definitely wasn't going back. She knew this time she needed medical attention. There was no way around it. The wound on her head, even with the pressure of the sweatshirt, wouldn't stop bleeding.

"It's so nice that you decided to accept our invitation," James Possible told Bonnie.

Kim hid her smile, Bonnie was so uncomfortable sitting at the table it was amusing.

"It was my pleasure," Bonnie replied.

"I bet she made her come," Jim whispered to Tim loud enough for both Bonnie and Kim to hear.

"Who in their right mind would want to spend more time with Kim than necessary anyway?" Tim asked.

"Let's not have it be one of those nights," Anne said slipping out of the kitchen and taking her place at the table.

"How was school?" James asked steering the subject to something safe.

"It was fine," Kim said. "We met up with Saint John Bosco and it's sister school today regarding winter formal."

"Their student body president looks really familiar," Bonnie said as she scooped mashed potatoes onto her plate.

"You know her by her alter ego," Kim said. "She does look completely different as a civilian doesn't she?"

"Well Kimmiecub who is she?"

"Shego."

"As in Drew's right hand, your arch foe, put you in the hospital not to long ago Shego?" Anne asked.

"The very same…" Kim answered. "That last one was an accident."

"She goes to school?" Jim asked. "Like to actually get an education?"

Kim shrugged.

"She has her personal life and I have mine," Kim said looking over toward Bonnie.

The brunette blushed and concentrated on her food.

The two twin boys looked at each other and their faces widened with mischievous grins.

"Has Kim met your family?" Tim inquired.

"They must be dying to meet her." Jim said.

"Why would her parents be dying to meet me?" Kim asked.

"It's been what, three months?" Jim said.

"Three months since what?" Bonnie asked. Kim deadpanned knowing that the boys would all two willingly answer that question.

"Since you two started…" Tim was cut off.

"Tim, why don't you go and get some more tea from the refrigerator?" James said interrupting him.

The boy opened his mouth to reply but shut it when he received a glare from his mother.

Shego only had one place to go and as much as she hated that fact. She didn't have a choice. It didn't take her long to make it outside of the Possible household but there was no way she'd be able to climb up to Kim's window.

"Jake get back here!" Shego commanded as Jacob ran over to Kim's front door and began to howl and whine. The door opened and Kim stood there but that fact that she wasn't alone deterred Shego from revealing herself.

"Hello big guy." Kim said, giving Jacob a rub down. "What's your name?"

The redhead checked Jacob's dog collar and instantly recognized the last name.

"Who's dog is that?" Bonnie asked.

"I think it belongs to a friend of mine." Kim said. "I'll walk him home after you leave."

The brunette nodded and they walked to her car.

"Your family's not so bad." Bonnie joked.

Kim grinned.

"They just didn't want to scare you away. Wait until next time."

"Mhmm..." Bonnie muttered grabbing a hold of Kim and pulling her in close.

"Oh fuck," Shego groaned. The last thing she wanted to do was sit and watch Kim Possible make out with her girlfriend, but she didn't have a choice.

It was five minutes before Bonnie actually left and when Kim tried walking in the direction of the hotel Jacob ran the other way, back toward the house.

"Come on boy," Kim called but knew something was up when the dog went into some bushes near her house and wouldn't come out.

"I'm dying and you're sucking your girlfriend's lungs out." Shego muttered when Kim finally got close enough. She was sitting up against the side of the Possible house hidden by medium sized hedges.

"Shit!" Kim said when she saw all the blood. "What happened to you?"

"Pet problems…" Shego joked.

"Mom!" Kim called. "Come on."

The redhead helped the villainess up from her sitting position and they were nearly to the front door when Anne appeared.

"My god," The other woman said. She flanked Shego's other side and they assisted her inside.

Once in the house they went into the dining room where they had excellent lighting.

"Head wounds are the best ya know," Shego said, she was getting dizzier by the second. "No matter how much pressure you put on them they just keep bleeding and bleeding and bleeding..."

"Lay her down," Anne told Kim. "I'm going to need my medical kit."

Kim guided Shego down onto the table and had her lay there.

Kim slowly moved Shego's hand away from the sweater and gently pulled it away from her face.

The amount of blood made Shego's wound look a lot worse than it actually was.

"Warm water Kim, hurry." Anne said coming back.

"Jacob," Shego said. "He's such a good boy."

"Shh sweetie it'll be okay." Anne told her grasping her hand.

"But Jake," She tried again but Anne hushed her.

Kim came back quickly with the water her mother requested. She watched as her mother dabbed away all but the freshest of the blood that had collected on Shego's head wound.

"Have you had stitches before?" Anne asked.

"Yes," Shego said.

"Then you know the drill." She said. "This'll hurt a bit but it'll feel much better in the end."

Howling from outside made Anne frown.

"What is that noise?"

"Jacob," Shego responded hoarsely.

Kim disappeared from her sight but soon returned. Shego could feel Jacob stand on his hind legs and lick her hand.

"You brought a dog into my dining room?" Anne asked. "While I'm applying stitches?"

"He's a good boy," Shego repeated. "Go sleep Jake."

Jacob looked from the empty corner she was implying he sleep in and back to her.

"Go on," She coaxed.

He licked her hand again and went and did as he was told. He didn't immediately close his eyes instead he laid down and watched them closely.

"Smart dog," Kim said.

"What caused this?" Anne asked.

"She's out," Kim said.

Shego was out cold the minute Jacob laid down in his new corner. Where she knew he would remain until she woke up or someone told him to do otherwise.

It took Anne a few minutes to complete the task and again she wiped away as much blood as she could, over the stitching she placed a bandage.

"She can't stay on the table." Anne said.

"You're not thinking we carry her up the stairs are you?" Kim asked.

"Not "we"," Anne said. "You."

Kim looked from her mother back to the sleeping from of her abused friend, it was going to be a long night.

Kim didn't have too hard of a time getting Shego up the stairs and into her bedroom. Shego slept soundly the whole way, even after Kim had accidentally gotten the girl's leg caught between the banisters.

Laying Shego down was the easy part. She looked the raven haired girl over and noted her blood stained shirt, most of it which was still wet. They would definitely have to be removed before Kim went and got comfortable enough for bed.

The teen hero went to her closet and rummaged through it for something big enough for Shego to wear. Kim analyzed her own body in comparison to Shego's and shook her head. Even though the other girl was just a few months older her body had matured much more quickly than the redhead girls.

She finally found a shirt big enough for the raven haired girl to wear. It was a plain grey T shirt she usually reserved for summer sleeping. It provided her more than enough room to wiggle around and get comfortable in.

She went back over to her bed and again looked the other girl over. How she was going to pull the shirt off without waking the other girl was a mystery to her, but she supposed that if Shego survived the climb up the stairs without stirring, a simple shirt change wouldn't faze her.

Kim lifted the top half of Shego's body from the bed and slid behind her in order to keep the raven haired girl from falling backwards. The younger girl gently pulled the blood soaked shirt up mid way, slipping Shego's arms through each hole she pulled it off all the way.

"Oh my…"

Kim frowned deeply when she noticed the discoloration on the older girls chest. Upon closer inspection she ran her fingers over the bruised skin and instantly knew Shego had at least two broken ribs. She discarded her change of shirt plan and shifted enough to where she was able to pull out her Kimmunicator.

"Wade,"

"Hey Kim," A young dark skinned boy replied as his face appeared on the screen.

"Can you get me Betty Director?" She asked.

"Sure thing," He answered. "Give me a few and…"

His face disappeared from the screen and Betty Director appeared.

"What can I do for you Ms. Possible?" The brunette asked.

"I've got a bit of an emergency." She answered. "So if you aren't busy…"

"I'll come as soon as I can," Betty answered and their communication was cut.

Kim sighed. She just didn't understand how the martial artist had come to be in her current state. Kim had never managed to do something even remotely akin to this during their fights. Had she been outnumbered? Kim dismissed that idea when she remembered Shego's earlier words.

"Pet problems?" Kim asked herself out loud. Kim considered the idea that Shego was in an abusive relationship but shook her head. Shego's mind set was of someone who could handle a relationship like that. The other girl enjoyed fighting but she wasn't necessarily out to do any harm, she just liked the challenge. Kim mulled over the notion that Shego had possibly been out with her girlfriend and had been attacked. She let that idea go; Shego definitely wouldn't have been dressed like she was if she was out.

Kim considered the other girls clothing and thought maybe she had been out playing a game and things turned bad unexpectedly, but she couldn't been sure. There was just way to many possibilities about what could have happened to the young villainess. She didn't have any more time to wonder when a knock at her door came.

Kim pulled one of her blankets that wasn't made with the bed on Shego's revealed top half just in case Doctor Director hadn't come alone.

"Come in," Kim called.

Her door opened slowly and Betty Director followed by Kim's mother.

The Global Justice commander's eye automatically focused in on the unconscious Shego.

"I thought everything was taken care of," Anne told Kim.

"Not exactly," Kim said moving just enough of the blanket aside for the two women to see their new set of circumstances.

"You should have called me earlier," Betty said. The brunette pulled out her cell phone and dialed a number.

"She hasn't been here that long," Anne responded.

Kim sat there concentrating on the broken ribs of the other girl. What if she had made the damage worse by carrying her up the stairs the way she had. What if that wasn't the only thing that was wrong with Shego and instead of laying there in a deep sleep she was slowly dying.

"Fuck," Kim cursed. "We should have been more responsible than this."

"Calm down, Kimmie." Anne said. "The head lesion was the only thing she mentioned when she got here, had you not moved the shirt she could have been in worse condition by morning."

"Which could be another problem," Betty said. "What else could there be wrong that she didn't mention?"

The two redheads sighed.

Whoever Doctor Director called finally answered.

"I need two red units," Was all she said before hanging up.

Kim blocked out the older two women as they began to converse about Shego's current situation, it allowed her mind to wonder back around to what could have caused this and she silent wondered if Doctor Director could perhaps know.

"We won't know until she awakens," Betty said reading Kim's facial expression. "and even then, she may not want to talk about it."

Kim nodded.

"Honey, who are all these people?" James possible asked as more Global Justice officials appeared. There were three females and one male and on sleeves of their uniforms were red bands with crosses on them.

"We had a bit of a situation come up once you boys went to bed." Anne explained.

The brown haired man looked over his wife's shoulder.

"Rest assured this will all be taken care of by first light," Doctor Director assured them.

"I want to go," Kim said when the four medics approached her with a stretcher.

"I don't think that…" Betty started but Kim cut her off.

"She came to me," Kim argued. "If she didn't want me to be with her she wouldn't have come."

Betty Director was going to point out that Kim's mother was a brain surgeon and Shego's head injury what most likely brought her to the Possible household but she decided against it.

"If your parents agree…"

"We do," Anne said, and with that Betty nodded.

"It's going to be a long night." Betty said.

--

Authors Note: I didn't intend for their relationship to get this violent but urmm…The story writes itself…


	5. Stage Two: Cellular Metamorphos

Author's Note: I'll point out again that Shego does not yet have plasmic abilities. Enjoy.

_**Chapter Five: Stage Two: Cellular Metamorphoses **_

"_You are a child of God; your playing small does not serve the world."_

Kim watched Shego's even breathing. Three days had passed since the incident that brought Jacob scratching at her front door. The older girl had yet to awaken from her deep slumber. The doctors kept a close eye on her.

They were very interested in the villainess's healing process. The lesion on Shego's head had completely healed by early that next morning and the doctors had to go in and remove the stitches that would have dissolved by the time it was time to have usually taken them out.

The redhead didn't exactly know why she was so vigilant when she was at the other girl's side. She left from Global Justice's medical wing and went to school every morning. When school was out she took care of her presidential duties and spent time with Bonnie before returning to her place in the chair next to Shego's bedside.

Kim's cell phone vibrated in her pocket and she answered it.

"Hey Dad," Kim answered.

"Kimmiecub," Kim could hear the smile in his voice. "Kiddo your mother won't be home tonight."

"That's alright," Kim replied.

"What about Jake?" James asked. He had no clue about taking care of a dog, no matter how well behaved the animal was.

"What about him?" Kim said. "Just make sure he has water and is let out before you guys go to bed."

"And food?" James asked.

"Mom's been giving him leftovers," Kim answered.

"How is she?" James inquired changing the subject over to the dog's owner.

"Stable," Kim said. "She hasn't woken up yet."

The two chatted for a little while longer and then ended the conversation. Kim was in the process of finishing her homework when something strange caught her attention.

Shego's hands lay idly at her sides. Kim leaned forward. She squinted her eyes in scrutiny; sure enough her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. The raven haired girl's hands were glowing a steady light green color.

Kim didn't know why but she gave into the strong urge to reach out and take the glowing hand in her own. It was soft and uncomfortably warm but she didn't let it go, she absently began stroking the hand and jumped lightly when its owner flinched.

"That tickles," The raven haired female informed her companion.

Kim smiled and noted that Shego's hand had cooled down considerably and its glow was gone.

"How are you feeling?" Kim asked.

The raven haired girl sat up and the blankets that were covering her fell. She touched her bandaged torso and shrugged.

"I feel fine," Shego replied. "Excellent actually."

"What happened to you?" Kim asked.

The concern Shego heard in Kim's voice made her feel guilty. She didn't want to lie to the redhead but Kim more than deserved an explanation.

"I missed the block," Was all she replied. Which was the truth; she had failed to keep a close eye on her irate girlfriend and in turn paid the price for it.

Kim frowned, that definitely wasn't what she had expected to hear. She could tell by the way Shego said it that the older girl didn't plan on expanding on her explanation with details. The two sat in silence for a while.

Shego looked herself over and lifted her left hand up to rub her forehead, from what she could tell there were no traces of the incident. She didn't care that Kim was there as she removed her hospital gown.

Kim's eyes trailed over the smooth shoulders that were revealed to her, the swells of Shego's creamy breast made her blush lightly. She shook her head and turned her attention to something other than Shego.

Shego wanted to laugh at the actions of the other girl but instead began to undress her incision, well at least the one she expected to see. There was nothing there when she pulled the gauze away.

"I just don't get it," Shego muttered to herself.

Kim turned to see what Shego was talking about and her eyebrows rose questioningly.

"They didn't understand it either," Kim answered. "When your head healed as fast as it did. They started asking questions."

"I really do think they may have drugged me," Shego said. "There's no way I would have slept that long over such trivial wounds."

"If the doctors weren't so afraid of you," Kim said. "They probably wouldn't have wanted to so bad."

"I've never done anything to them," She snapped more roughly than she had intended to.

"Then I suppose the stories I heard were lies?" Kim asked.

"No," Shego said. "They were true but I didn't start any of them."

Kim nodded. This is the reason none of the idea's she thought of could have been true. Shego was a fighter and didn't take bullshit from anyone, no matter where she was or what the circumstances were. She was a girl whose mere presence demanded respect.

Shego slid her gown back on and sighed.

"Where's Jake?" Shego asked suddenly. She'd completely forgotten about her faithful buddy.

"He's still at home," Kim said. "My family's been taking pretty good care of him."

Shego breathed a sigh of relief. Jacob was her baby, from the moment she'd brought him home from the kennel the raven haired girl knew she'd made the right choice.

"He hasn't caused any trouble has he?" She asked, knowing full well he hadn't.

Kim shook her head. If he had, her parents hadn't mentioned it.

"He misses you though," Kim said. "My mother complains that he lays next to the front door all day like he's waiting for something."

Kim saw Shego's shoulders drop. The older girl's facial expression fell and Kim wished she had kept that part to herself.

The door opening brought both girls attention away from their thoughts.

"You're awake," Betty Director said coming through the door.

"What an acute observation." Shego said sarcastically.

"Now, Now Ms. Temperamental." Betty said. "You shouldn't bite the hand that feeds you."

"You must be doing a terrible job," Shego said. "I'm starving."

"You're greedy," Kim teased. "You go through those food things like you haven't had a meal in months."

"What can I say?" Shego said with a smile. "I'm a growing gal."

"I'm going to need you to do me a favor." Betty said, her cheerful disposition becoming serious. "You can let the doctors check you over without fuss."

"No." Shego responded. "I don't need a checking over."

"Sam…"

"Don't," Shego told Kim. "She's bad enough; I don't need to hear it from you too."

"They're going to do it whether you like it or not," Kim pointed out, She completely discarded Shego's interruption.. "You may as well not waste your energy."

Betty crossed her arms over her chest and went to lean on the nearest wall.

Shego sighed. What Kim said had been true. It was going to come down to her versus them but one thing she was sure of; Kim wouldn't intervene.

The redhead leaned back in her chair; she had no intentions of crossing over onto Shego's shit list. She slipped her hands into her pockets and looked back and forth between Shego and Betty Director.

"You mind if I have a word alone with her for a second?" Betty asked Kim. The redhead gave a curt nod and stood from her sitting position.

She took her time as she let the room.

The door closed and neither one of the two women spoke right away.

"I thought you were the 'normal' one?" Betty asked.

Shego scoffed. There was nothing normal about her or her family. Her brothers had their own quirky abilities enabling them to run around and pretend to be superheroes. She, on the other hand, was a great martial artist who just happened to use her skills for much more sinister ideals.

"I don't know what to tell you." Shego said. "Even I don't fully understand what's happening to me."

"Then let us help you," Betty said.

"You mean run little experiments on me?" Shego retorted. "I don't think so."

"It's our job to know about any 'changes',"

"I bet you people called a code blue when I hit puberty." She quipped.

"Code red actually but we won't go into that," Betty said. "My point is I don't want to have to do this by uncivilized means."

"Betty…" Shego warned.

"Blood test." The brunette said quickly. "And then you can go."

"You already got that." Shego said knowingly. "Only god knows what else you people did while I was out."

Betty sighed. She could feel a headache come on. She wished her subordinates had kept their mouths shut about Shego's cellular abnormalities around her superiors. She shook her head, Shego wasn't going to do this the easy way but Betty refused to endanger her agents by sending them in to subdue the raven haired girl. Betty watched as Shego eyed her subtly.

"Fine," Betty said. "I'll make you deal."

"I'm listening." Shego said.

"You make it out of here without getting caught or seriously injuring anyone and I'll let you go."

"And if I don't?"

"You give us the blood sample." Betty said simply.

Shego weighed her options. She wasn't in a very giving mood and preferred for her blood to stay exactly where it was.

"You're on." Shego said.

"Whenever you're ready." Betty said.

She stood up right and walked back to the door.

"I'll see you later," The brunette said with a smile.

"Sure thing," Shego replied.

Shortly after Betty left, Kim reentered the room and took her pervious seat next to Shego's cot.

The two girls stared at each other. Kim's face pursed in curiosity while Shego frowned. The raven haired girls scowl deepened and the redhead's expression mimicked her own.

"What?" Kim asked feeling a tinge of annoyance coming on.

"What are you doing here?" Shego asked. She found herself wondering the exact same thing Kim had wondered when their situations had been reversed.

"I was just making sure I hadn't killed you," Kim replied with a grin.

Shego huffed. She really didn't have time for Kim to sit here quoting her.

"So now that you know I'm alive I take it you're leaving?"

"I didn't plan on it."

"Perhaps, I failed to ask the correct question." Shego said.

"Possibly…"

"Why are you _still _here?" Shego asked adding emphasis to the word still.

Kim sat there for a moment. She wasn't really sure what to say. She found herself in this predicament often when it came to Shego. The raven haired girl would ask her a question that was simple and she found it difficult to accurately articulate herself.

"Because Samantha Orrick is my fr…"

"I really don't think we should go into this…" Shego said. Kim's eyes followed Shego's to a nearby security camera.

She failed to notice the camera before. They usually weren't something she paid attention to but Shego was more than aware of their presence.

"You're not going to help them are you?" Shego asked Kim instead. She wasn't stupid. Shego knew Kim had been leaning against the door listening to her and Betty's whole conversation.

The redhead shook her head.

"I'm actually going home." Kim answered. "So if you want a ride make it quick."

"I'll consider it." Shego said.

The younger girl got the clue; she would wait for Shego for as long as she felt necessary and then leave.

Kim gathered her things and moved toward the door.

"Be careful," She said finally before leaving.

Shego sighed. How she was suppose to get out of Global Justice's infirmary in a gown she wasn't sure, but she was a very creative girl.

Shego eyed the dressing on the bed and lifted her eyebrow in thought.

Kim paused outside of Shego's door for a moment before adjusting her backpack and moving down the corridor. She got to the end and nearly passed Betty Director. The brunette walked next to her quietly for a few moments, before Kim heard her sigh.

"Do you really think what you two are doing is such a brilliant idea." Betty asked.

"Are you going to stop us?" Kim asked curiously.

"Well I don't think I can," Betty said. "Orrick will become 'friends' with whomever she pleases."

Kim thought it was a bit funny that Betty threw in the same air quotations Shego did.

"You're her friend aren't you?" Kim asked. "Giving her a choice like that."

Betty shrugged.

"What I am to her is not significant." Betty retorted. "We're talking about you, which is completely different.

"Not really," Kim insisted. "You give her a chance to practice breaking out of here whenever you get the chance and everyone and their mothers know it.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Betty said not denying any of it.

"That isn't healthy." Kim told her. The redhead was exceptionally good when it came to turning the conversation on other people. It was a skill she acquired at a young age when her parents would harp on her.

"She could benefit from this," Betty continued.

"I'm not going to try and change her if that's what you're asking of me." Kim told her firmly. "I'm not going to use our friendship as a way to manipulate her."

"That's not what I'm asking you to do." Betty said.

"Good…" Kim replied trailing off.

"You know eventually she'll start to wander away from her little 'hobby'," Betty continued.

"I don't see it happening any time soon." Kim replied. The two females made it to the exit of global Justice when the first set of alarms rang.

"Oh my I wonder what that could be able," Betty said with a laugh. "Have a good night, Possible."

"Sure thing." the redhead answered.

Kim made it to her car and placed her bag in the backseat before moving around to the driver's side.

She didn't know how long she would wait but if the other girl was caught she'd definitely know.

Minutes passed and Kim slipped her hands into her pockets, leaning against the driver's side of the car she sighed.

If what Betty said had the potential to be true, then wouldn't she also pull away from her own saving the world duties to be with the older girl? The less Shego did the less individual value Kim held. Armed Global Justice officials weren't enough to hold Shego back Kim witnessed as the villainess lightly jogged over to her vehicle.

"Took you long enough," Kim said, quickly hopping into the driver's seat. Shego did something annoying and hopped through the window Kim didn't notice had been rolled down.

"Shut up and drive," Shego replied.


	6. Shut Up and Drive

_Author's note: I appologize to those who had to suffer through the first posting of this. FF likes to randomly underline some on my chapter posts._

_**Chapter Six: Shut up and Drive**_

"_We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us..."_

_--_

"Where to?" Kim asked as the quiet raven haired girl. They'd been on the road for almost an hour and Shego hadn't said very much.

"Jake," Was her short reply. She wasn't really in the mood to talk even though she could tell her silence was bothering her companion. The two girls had spent enough time together to have a sense of normality between them and the tension that surrounded them at the moment wasn't a part of it.

Kim nodded.

"You're more than welcome to stay the night…" The redhead offered.

"I'm not homeless you know," Shego said.

"I wasn't insinuating that you were," Kim defended. "I'm just a little concerned."

"Don't be," Shego said. "The last thing I need for you of all people to be doing is worrying me."

"I don't give a shit about you," Kim lied. "I care about my "friend" Sam. Who according to you has very bad pet problems."

Shego groaned. She really didn't feel like getting into this.

"The only thing I want from you is my dog." Shego informed her.

Kim sighed, she could feel a headache building. The raven haired villainess was right, Shego and Kim Possible could never be friends. The older girl was much to stubborn, arrogant, argumentative, and temperamental for her liking.

"Still haven't fully recovered have you?"

"What do you care?" Kim answered.

"I don't." Shego said. "I was just asking."

"Don't ask if you don't care." Kim told her.

"I'll ask whatever I please."

Kim pulled over to the side of the empty road they had been traveling on.

"I don't know what's gotten into you but it has to go." Kim said.

"PMS?" Shego answered questioningly. Shego almost wanted to laugh. Kim was trying to be stern with her and instead it ended up being one of the cutest things she'd ever seen the redhead do.

"This isn't funny."

"Actually it is." Shego told her. "What do you think I am, seven?"

"You're acting like it." Kim said.

"And that makes you so much more mature." Shego prodded. "Arguing with an adult that's supposedly acting like a child."

"You know what…"

"I have many talents, Princess," Shego said. "but I'm afraid mind reading isn't one of them."

"Five shots," Kim said. "If I win you'll stop being a jerk."

"And if I win you'll shut the fuck up," Shego said. "sounds great."

Kim had half the mind to sucker punch her then but decided against it. She got out of the car and did a double take when she looked at the other girl. She had completely disregarded the fact that Shego wore a hospital gown covered by a sheet.

"You can stop staring," Shego told her. "I know I have a nice body."

"I was looking at the gown pervert." Kim said, her face reddening out of embarrassment.

"Mhmm…" Shego lifted her eyebrow and decided to test the theory.

Kim's blush deepened and she turned away from the other girl. She didn't need the raven haired girl to make a point.

"I'm telling Bryony." Shego taunted.

"How did you even know that?" Kim asked. "She got her name changed several years ago."

"Unless she's now a man. Tell her what ever is on the first birth certificate sticks." Shego grinned when Kim rolled her eyes.

"You're so rude," Kim laughed. She slipped into her fighting stance as Shego finished stretching.

"I'm feeling confident," Shego said. "I'll let you have the first hit."

"You're only saying that cause I was going to get it anyway."

"Are there any little rules you failed to mention?" Shego asked. "I hate it when people make up rules in the middle of games."

"Nothing critical." The younger girl said. "I think we've both had enough."

The older girl started off first as she rushed the other female. Kim dodged Shego's sloppy advances, somehow she knew this would happen. The older girl always seemed to improve after a few test strikes. Kim carefully used this opportunity to gain the upper hand.

Shego evaded a series of palm strikes from the smaller girl but was tossed off balance by a tree root. The redhead held her composure as she managed to successfully land two hits to her opponents upper body before she fell. She scowled as the redhead laughed and Shego punched Kim in the arm.

"That's not funny." She said.

"Three to one," Kim said bringing her leg up and landing a kick to Shego's ribs.

Kim was back on the defensive as Shego lit into her. Kim winced as three of the raven haired girls combination punches broke through. Her arms were beginning to sting.

"Why are you hitting me so hard?" Kim asked throwing up a kick to back the older girl up.

"Stop being a baby." Shego said. "You wanted this."

Kim frowned but set off the next chain of attacks all while blocking Shego's advances. The older girl was one strike away from victory and that was not something Kim was prepared to let her obtain effortlessly.

"Fuck!" Kim called out, the same tree root Shego had fallen victim to caused her to topple over.

The natural reaction to close her eyes overcame Kim and when she opened them she stared straight at Shego's fist hovering above her face.

"Karma's a bitch isn't it?" Shego asked, opening the closed fist and offering it to Kim.

The redhead blushed and grasped the extended hand.

Shego grinned pulling the other girl to her feet, Kim was confused when the raven haired girl tapped her once lightly on the nose.

"Five." Was her only response. She smirked at Kim's perplexed expression and walked to the car.

"Shut up and drive," Kim said. "gotcha."

Shego sat smugly in the car as Kim silently drove to her home. It wasn't very far away and had they not stopped for their little tussle they would have already been there.

Shego looked at the house through the window and sighed. She supposed she'd have to go inside and thank the Possible's for their hospitality.

"You don't have to…" Kim told her. She watched the expressions on Shego's face shift to extremely discomfort and possibly to anxiety.

"Don't give me an out, Princess." Shego told her. "I don't think me wearing this is going to cut it…"

Kim laughed lightly. The other girl pulled gently at the gown and raised her eyebrow.

"They've seen plenty of people in gowns." Kim said. "He probably won't even notice."

"Oh don't think anything of it Mr. P, I just broke out of Global Justice's hospital wing and I refused to wear those hideous uniforms the guards I took out wore." Shego retorted in a falsely enthusiastic voice.

"Please don't ever do that again." Kim said laughing.

"Then don't say such ridiculous things." Shego told her. "I'm not even wearing shoes!"

The redhead bit her bottom lip and opened the car door.

"They might not even be home."

Kim was right. When she opened the door to her house it was empty.

"Jake?" Shego called into the house and she moved in after Kim.

There was no response to her call. The two girls frowned. Kim's parents didn't usually take Jake anywhere very far. The farthest was a walk around the neighborhood.

"Maybe he's out in the yard." Kim suggested.

"He would have said something," Shego said dismissing the idea.

"Sam, your dog doesn't talk."

"He talks to me," Shego said. "He just doesn't like you very much."

Kim huffed. In her opinion Jacob liked her just fine.

The younger girl ignored Shego and went to check the backyard anyway. She walked through the dining room and into the kitchen to the back sliding glass door. Sure enough, the dog was no where to be found. Kim shut the sliding glass door and when she went back into the living room she found the villainess was gone.

Shego sighed and disappeared back behind the bushes where she had sat the first night with Jacob. She figured it would be easier to just wait for the redhead's family to get back. They probably hadn't bought him a leash and even if they had that wouldn't be a problem.

Before long the cold had her rethinking this decision but she stayed put. Headlight's coming down the street brought her attention away from the thirty degree weather. The car passed and she settled in again. Apparently mother nature wanted to rub salt on her wounds as it began to rain. The facial expression of the raven haired girl darkened, but still she stayed put.

Kim stared out of her bedroom window as it started to pour. She didn't know whether or not Shego was out there in it or if the other girl had gone home. Wherever home for her was.

Kim watched as her father's car pulled up and the boys jumped out of the vehicle with Jacob. The animal looked around and wagged his tail, he didn't pull on the leash he was tethered to nor did he bark. James pulled out of the driveway and left. When the twin Jacob was attached to went to move, he sat down.

"Jake," Tim said. "Come on, boy."

The dog continued to sit.

"Maybe you didn't say it demanding enough." Jim suggested.

"We've never had to say it that way before," Tim pointed out.

"Well I've been watching the dog whisperer and he say's…"

"Seriously dude?" Tim asked.

"Maybe he isn't ready to go inside just yet." Jim said. "Leave him out here, he'll come inside when he is."

Tim shrugged and undid the leash. Jake continued to sit there but the boys just looked at each other before going inside.

Shego made sure the boys had gone inside before she emerged from her hiding spot.

"Come here, Jacob." Shego called to the Alaskan malamute.

He greeted her happily rubbing his wet fur against he soaking wet form.

"Let's go home boy." Shego told him after rubbing his behind the ears.

Kim watched the two as they left in the direction of what she figured was were they lived. She knew it wasn't very far since they appeared to capable of walking there without any problems.

Kim pulled out her rain coat and slipped through her window to follow them.

The raven haired girl sighed when she detected Kim a good distance behind her. It would seem she'd have to take the long way home. Quickly she ducked around the nearest corner.

"Crap," Kim said noticing the two had caught on to her. She turned and went back home. There was no reason to keep following them.

Shego and Jake peered around the corner of the hotel and watched the lobby through the glass doors. There weren't very many people but there were way to many for Shego's liking.

"Let's go around to the service door's." She whispered to Jacob. His ears perked up and he followed his master.

The service entry's were unlocked and the hallways were clear. Shego stepped inside and felt much better, it was a few degree's warmer indoors.

Jacob trotted ahead and Shego followed. He sat in front of the stairway doors and Shego came up behind him. She opened the doors and he waited for her to take the lead.

The jog up the stairs was longer than Shego ever recalled it being. She discarded the thought that she didn't have a key. She didn't to much care, she'd just break in.

They came to their door and Jacob sat a good distance away. He always enjoyed watching what Shego referred to as "Ninja-ing the door". She crouched down into a position that resembled Kim's fighting stance. Pulling back her right hand with the palm facing outward, She thrust it forward and the door busted open.

The elevator doors at the end of the hall dinged and the two rushed inside.

"I better not ever catch you doing that she told him."

He ignored her and trotted to the bathroom.

Shego found the place empty as she gathered bathing materials for both herself and Jacob. She showered first and then prepared a bath for Jacob, which he patiently endured like the good dog he was. When it was finished he jumped out of the tub and stood on the towel that was laid out on the bathroom floor.

Shego towel dried him first and then moved to the blow dryer. Shego murmured praises to him as she combed through his fur first and then dried it.

Jacob disappeared into the living room as she cleaned up their mess.

Shego tossed the used towels into the laundry basket and went into the living room. She rolled her eyes when she noticed the forgotten pizza that laid on the floor next to Jacob's pillow. He was curled on top of it watching her.

"No you can't have it." She told him. She picked up the molding food item and went into the kitchen. It of course was a mess, but she wasn't going to clean it up. The shattered dishes were still scattered over the floor from the other night.

"Jacob," She called. "We should leave."

The dog whined from his spot on the pillow.

"We'd go some place fun." She told him. "Like a spa or something."

He raised his head and immediately stopped the whine of protest at that idea.

She went in search of her cell phone and found it still attached to the charger in the bedroom. Which she noted was a mess. It seemed Joy refused to send housekeeping up while she was "away."

The raven haired girl heard the front door open and shut. She sighed she didn't really feel like facing her biggest problem at that moment.

"You're home." She heard Neelam's low accented voice from the door way.

Shego shrugged but didn't verbally respond. She instead moved to the dresser and opened the top drawer.

"Alright Samantha," Neelam said. "lets halt this foolishness."

"Fuck you," Shego responded. She pulled out underwear and moved on to the next drawer.

"Sam…"

"Shut up," The raven haired girl told her. She pulled out white T shirts and undershirts before moving on to the next drawer.

"Can't we talk about this?" Neelam said. "I think things have really gotten out of hand between us and if we just sit down and discuss this like adults…"

"I'm seventeen," Shego reminded her. "and you're a childish bitch. No conversation between adults to be had here."

"You are being difficult," Neelam told her moving further into the room. She didn't go any closer to Shego but instead kept a keen eye on the distance between them. She sat on the bed and removed her shoes while she watched Shego pull a sports bag from the closet.

"You just got back," Neelam said. "haven't we had enough time apart?"

"No."

"I missed you," Neelam told her. She stood and started unbuttoning her shirt. "You've never been gone this long after one of our spats."

"You had never tried to kill me with a frying pan before," Shego retorted. "I guess we're fulfilling our never done list."

"Just stay," Neelam pleaded. "I'll take the day off tomorrow, we can spend it together."

Shego laughed. She just wanted the woman to go away and leave her alone. She had already decided she was leaving, she didn't need to have Neelam here begging her to stay.

"So that's how I can get you to take a day off?" Shego asked. "by letting you fracture my skull with a blunt object."

"I know I made a mistake," Neelam said. "and I'm sorry for that."

"You're sorry?" Shego asked her incredulously. "You don't know what sorry is."

"You act like you had no part in this." Neelam said. "Like you're little miss innocent."

"I didn't say that." Shego said. "but don't blame your lack of self disciple on me."

"I'm getting help for that." Neelam said. "I'm trying here!"

"Try harder." Shego said.

The two females stared at each other. One was slightly agitated while the other appeared calm.

"Running isn't going to solve our problems, Samantha."

"Neither will physical violence, Neelam."

"I'm seeing a therapist…"

"Seeing or fucking?"

"…and he believes I suffer from some type of post traumatic stress disorder due to something that happened to me as a child." Neelam said ignoring Shego's question.

"Bullshit." Shego said.

"Sam," Neelam said. "please?"

Shego sighed. She fought with herself. She knew that if she had stayed here long enough the older woman would eventually talk her into staying. The raven haired girl knew she should have turned away and kept packing, ignoring anything else the middle eastern woman had to say, but she didn't. She couldn't, is what she told herself. Instead she turned and began tucking her clothing away.

Neelam smiled lightly as she moved closer to Shego, wrapping her arms around the raven haired girls waist and pulling her closer.

"Good girl."

Kim turned over for what she thought was the hundredth time. The redhead sat up, looking around her room she pulled back her blankets and shuffled around in the dark before she found what she was looking for. It was the old picture of Shego that had at one point hung in her locker. Why she had felt the need to look at it she didn't know. The girl didn't look much different now than she had then but she knew one thing, she wanted a new picture.

She turned on her light and opened her down. Slowly she made her way down to the kitchen, and was surprised to find the light already on.

"Kim," Anne greeting her from the table in the kitchen as she walked through the swinging door.

"Hey mom," Kim replied. "What are you doing up?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Anne said. "I just got in not to long ago."

"And that is exactly the reason I could never be a surgeon." Kim said with a tired smile. She opened the refrigerator and pulled out the milk carton.

"You aren't meant to be a surgeon." Anne told her.

"Yeah my attention span is too short." Kim joked.

The older redhead chuckled as Kim shook the carton. There wasn't much left so instead of grabbing a cup she sat down at the table.

"I know I taught you better than that," Anne remarked.

"You did," Kim said taking a gulp. "but Dad taught me otherwise."

"Bonnie," Anne said after a few moments of silence.

Kim's eyebrows rose in response.

"Yeah, what about her?"

"Why?" Anne asked. "Out of all the girls you know, Bonnie?"

"I don't think I understand the question clearly." Kim asked.

"Why are you dating Bonnie Rockwaller?"

Author's Note: Hmm… I decided to stop this chapter here…why? I don't exactly know…Toss a review if you have time. Thanks to those of you who have taken the time to let me know what you think of what's going on so far. I do accept flames, but if you're going to flame me have the balls to be signed in.


	7. Normal

We're back to our Wednesday schedule since I won't be interrupted by my job.

_**Chapter Seven: Teenage normailty**_

"_As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same…"_

Kim stared blankly at her mother for a few moments before setting the milk carton down on the table before her. Anne sat asking her the same question she'd been secretly asking herself. She knew she liked Bonnie, that much was for sure. Now that the brunette mellowed out, she was a joy to be around.

Kim shrugged.

"We're a like. Our families are similar, we have a lot of the same issues. It makes me feel good to know that someone like her, don't ask me to define what that is, can be attracted to someone like me." Kim said. She could see the expression on her mothers face change into one of curiosity. "That and she's talented at being a bitch."

"That's always a bonus." Anne replied with a smile.

Kim returned it with a grin of her own and resumed drinking her milk.

The two females sat there carrying on a small conversation before Anne tried to usher Kim off to sleep. She used some lame excuse like school in a few hours.

"But I'm not…" Kim was interrupted by a yawn. "Okay fine."

Shego was warm the next morning when she woke up. The body next to her wasn't helping. The raven haired girl slipped out of bed. Unlike Neelam she actually had somewhere to be. She finally turned her phone on and was met by an unsurprising amount of phone calls but one number stuck out.

She looked at the time and pushed the talk button to dial the number. She moved into the living room and sat down on the couch.

"Morning Jake."

The dog lifted his head in response.

"Why are you calling me so early?" The voice on the other end of the phone asked.

"Why did you call me at all?" Shego replied.

"I'm your mother, I'll call you whenever I please."

Shego scoffed.

"I received an interesting phone call…"

"So Betty called you and said?"

"Don't be so quick to think Elizabeth ratted you out."

"Well she did…"

"Who called is irrelevant." Her mother retorted. "When I allowed you to leave home it was for your apprenticeship and once you finished that you were to return…"

"I'm not coming home…"

"Samantha Hunter do not interrupt me." The voice of the other end became stern. "My patience with her are running thin, deal with your problem or soon _you won't have to_."

The line went dead and Shego sighed.

"And people wonder where I get it from…" She told Jake.

Getting ready for school was done quickly before she made Neelam and Jacob, more so Jacob than Neelam, breakfast.

"I take the day off and you're leaving."

"If you were around enough you'd know I get out of school at noon." Shego said. "You'll find something to keep yourself entertained."

"I want you to keep me entertained." Neelam responded.

"Stop whining," Shego told her. "It's unbecoming of a lady."

"Don't use my own words against me," Neelam said. She shook her head and took a seat at the table.

"Jacob," Shego called. The raven haired girl put food in his bowl.

"You treat that mutt like he's royalty." Neelam told her.

Jacob entered the kitchen and waited in his respective corner of the kitchen to be fed.

"Tell her who's king of this castle boy," Shego cooed to the animal, who in return barked.

"You two have practiced that."

"We've had plenty of time alone to do so."

Kim heard her cell phone ringing from the bathroom and while continuing to brush her teeth walked out to go and answer it.

"Morning Moni'" Kim answered removing the toothbrush from her mouth.

"Morning Kim," Monique replied.

"What can I do for you?"

"You can come get me."

"From your house presumably?"

"Yes."

"I'll be there in ten."

"Twenty minutes gotcha." Monique said laughing as they ended the conversation.

Kim finished her morning hygiene routine and gathered her brothers.

"Where's Ron?" Tim asked as they got into the car.

"We're going to meet him there," Kim answered starting the engine.

"Can we make a pit stop?" Jim asked as they backed out of the driveway.

"Where?"

"7 Eleven, Duh" Tim answered.

"If there is time after we pick up Monique."

"Doesn't she have a car?" Jim inquired.

"It's probably been acting up again." Kim answered.

The drive to Monique's was quick.

"Thanks," The black girl said getting into the car.

"You should let us work on your car," Tim asked.

"Work on it?" Monique asked. "There's nothing wrong with my car."

"Then why are we picking you up?" Kim asked.

"Gas prices, girl!" Monique told her. "My dad implemented this new forty dollars a month rule."

"But you have a job…" Tim said.

"Details details…" Monique said.

"I'm going to hate on you and say I wish I had thought of this first."

"I knew you would be able to appreciate the cheapness of all this."

Shego walked through the entrance of Lillian, and was flanked by Lauren.

"I thought you were Buddhist." She asked.

They both stopped and prayed in front of the statue of the Virgin Mary before continuing.

"I am," Shego said. "But there's something I get out of this that I can't explain."

"Then explain Winter Formal," Lauren said. "it's next Saturday. Are you going?"

"I haven't decided yet." Shego said.

"Sam!"

"What?" Shego answered. "I do have a life ya know. I don't just sit around thinking about this place on my free time."

"Neither do I," Laruen said. "It just irks me that the one person who is suppose to care about all this doesn't."

"I do." Shego said. "But that's not what's bothering you, You didn't act like this before this dance was happening."

Lauren sighed.

"It's not a good idea anyway." Shego told her. "You're like my little sister."

"What are you talking about?"

Shego looked down at her watch and ignored Lauren's question.

"It's almost time for first period."

Shego walked away from the other girl. Lauren would have to get over her crush. It was more annoying than anything else. The walk to first period was a lot longer than it needed to be. She got stopped every few seconds by different people who had problems. It appeared she wouldn't be home by twelve thirty.

Kim's sixth period seemed to slow down, she watched the clock more than she paid attention to what was happening on the board in front of her. Earlier Bonnie had informed her that she would be going dress shopping with her. Which was fine with Kim. She didn't have anything else to do but watching Bonnie try on multiple pieces of designer apparel wasn't going to be enough to hold her attention for more then fifteen minutes.

Kim rubbed her hand through her hair. She had been at a loss until she ran into Monique in the hallway and managed to enlist her help. She knew her brunette wouldn't be too happy about this but Monique did need a ride home, there would just be a detour.

"Ms Possible." Kim's English teacher Mr. Chaney called.

"I was listening," Kim answered. "barely but I promise I was."

"Come see me after class." He told her.

She sighed. He always caught her when her mind was wandering. Not long after that the bell rang. As much as Kim wanted to bolt out into the free world, she stayed seated. The classroom cleared and Mr. Chaney sat on the desk in front of her.

"I just don't get it," He said. "Do you do this in any of your other classed?"

"I pay the most attention to you," Kim in all honesty. "I think it might be your taste in literature."

"I'm just concerned. You've missed out on a great deal of the curriculum here at the end of the semester." He informed her. "That last thing anyone would want to happen is for you to fall off the honors bandwagon."

"My grades are fine."

"Really?" He asked. "We teachers have a tendency of talking about certain students behind their backs. Julian talks to Flores if they see a common problem, they go to Adams who in turn talks to Barken and we all know as Activities Director they come to me."

"I think I can see where this is going." Kim said.

"I just hope you're taking the same close look at what your GPA is going to look like at the end of this semester as we are."

"I can't help not to." Kim said. "It's always in my face. I notice everyone's content with me doing abnormal things but the minute I start to act like a typical teenager people get "concerned."

"Kim that's not exactly what I'm getting at." He said. "So I'll give you an ultimatum. You can start focusing more in class or I'll see you in night school next semester."

"Seriously?" Kim asked.

"Seriously." He informed her. "Don't forget that missed work is due tomorrow."

Kim nodded and gathered her things. Mr. Chaney went back to his desk and sat down to begin grading assignments.

"Audio Video is planning on creating a short film and are accepting scripts." He said as she was leaving. "Lets use that as a stepping stone to staying on the honors bandwagon."

Kim left and went to find Bonnie. She found the other girl talking to a few other students whose names Kim couldn't quite recall.

"I thought you tried to pull a fast one." The brunette said when she walked up. The other students said their goodbyes and left the two standing in the hallway.

"On you?" Kim said reaching out for Bonnie. She took each of the brunettes hands in her own. "Nev…"

"Are you ready yet?" Monique asked interrupting their moment.

"Ready for what?" Bonnie asked.

"Kim invited me to go dress shopping." The dark skinned girl informed her. "You're not going are you?"

The grip on Kim's hands tightened when the redhead went to pull away quickly. Kim knew she was in for it when she caught the look Bonnie gave her. The hero looked down sheepishly at her feet.

"So much for never, Kimberly…"

"I have a short attention span, you wanted to go shopping, and Monique likes talking about shopping I just thought She could come along…" Kim's voice trailed off as she met the faces of both girls.

The other two females looked at each other and the grip on Kim's hands loosened considerably.

"No ulterior motives like trying to get us to be friends?" Monique asked.

Kim shook her head.

"I guess she can tag along." Bonnie relented.

Kim grinned and pulled the other girl in for a kiss.

"Will you two come on," Monique asked. "Finding a dress for this thing it going to take the rest of the afternoon."

Kim pulled Bonnie in for a more forceful kiss when the brunette tried to break apart in order to retort.

"Be the bigger person," Kim told her when she released her girlfriend. "Please."

Bonnie's right eye twitched.

Kim and Bonnie met Monique out in the parking lot and caught the other girl talking to Felix. The wheelchair bound boy laughed at something the two other girls couldn't hear. He spotted Kim and Bonnie and smiled.

"So we're going to pick out winter formal fits I hear,"

"We?" Bonnie asked she turned to Kim and the redhead shrugged. She had nothing to do with Felix.

"Yeah," Felix said. "I hope you guys don't mind."

"It's fine." Kim told him before Bonnie could answer. She needed another mediator she was almost positive that Bonnie and Monique's hostile attitudes toward each other would cause trouble.

Bonnie left the three and got into her own car while Kim and Monique helped Felix.

"You know Monique had you said she was coming I wouldn't have took you up on the offer." Felix told her from the back seat.

"Funny, Kim left out that same fact when she invited me." Monique answered.

"Can you two be good friends and do something for me without bitching about Bonnie every five seconds?" Kim asked.

"But why Bonnie?" Felix asked.

Kim was really starting to get tired of that question.

"I'm dating her and you two are going to have to get over it." Kim told them. "Ron has and she's been a source of torment for him our whole childhood."

"I really don't care on way or the other," Felix said. "I just don't too much feel like dealing with the Monique and Bonnie factor together."

"It's the sacrifice I have to make in order to avoid the heat I'd get for my short attention span."

"But Kim you don't have a short attention span." Monique said.

"I do when it comes to Bonnie." Kim said. "I didn't know one could shop to much until I started dating her."

"You should say something," Felix said. "I did to Monique and we haven't been shopping since."

"See and it's not even my fault I'm breaking my streak." Monique said turning her head to grin at him. He smiled in return.

"So when are you two going to announce it to the world?" Kim asked.

"We were thinking we'd let people figure it out at Winform." Felix answered.

Kim could barely contain her laughter. Why she and her friends felt the need to combine words and names she'd never know.

"I could have sworn you had brothers…" Monique said.

"They said they had something to do after school." Kim said. "I didn't forget about them."

Shego nearly purred as the sun beat down on her wet skin. There was nothing like going to the coast. A long afternoon of surfing on a deserted beach, playing fetch with the dog, no aggressive girlfriends in sight. They were, of course, the only two there. The small island she had brought for herself was her home away from home. When it became to cold, she had a solution for that. She and Drew had spent a lot of their off time creating her an underwater getaway.

Neelam had apparently decided to go to work after speaking to Shego on her break. This didn't surprise the raven haired girl and in fact she had been completely content with it. Neelam didn't like the beach. She always complained about the sand and other people. The dark haired female had this annoying tendency to get excessively jealous if someone even eye'd Shego the "wrong" way. Shego had planned to bring her here, but there was only one way to get here and that was by jet. Neelam cringed at the thought of a seventeen year old as a pilot and would always turn her down.

Shego smiled when Jacob brought her back the ball she'd tossed just moments before.

"Good boy!" She praised. He jumped around and Shego laughed. The old dog was oddly energetic whenever she brought him here. She through the ball into the water and he charged after it, jumping enthusiastically into the water.

Shego heard the distinct sound of a phone ringing and looked over her shoulder as a small platform pushed up through the sand. The villainess got up and walked over to it. There was a small botton at the top she pressed and the box opened revealing her satellite phone. She checked the caller ID and answered.

"What Dr. D?" Shego answered.

"You should answer with a little more respect for me." He told her. "Or at least show up for work every once in a while."

"I figured you'd call me if you needed me and it seems I was correct."

"That's beside the point."

"Is it?"

"I want you…" He began.

"I'm a spoken for gal Dr. D." She told him to be annoying.

"To come in tonight!" He said becoming slightly frustrated. "Stop messing with me."

"But it's fun!" Shego answered. Jacob totted up next to her and placed the ball at her feet. "Good boy."

"Don't good boy me."

"I was talking to Jacob." Shego scoffed.

"Are you going to come or not?"

"It depends…" Shego said. "Am I going to stand around and file my fingernails or am I going to get some action."

"You're going to get your pay check."

"I'm getting that anyway." Shego said, enjoying poking at the older man. "by the way where's my W-2?"

"You've got to be joking."

"I'll be there Dr. D," Shego said.

"And leave the mutt."

"Let someone call my dog a mutt one more time…" She said dangerously.

"See you later." He said and hung up.

She replaced the phone on the mantle and watched as the top closed and the platform began sinking back into the sand.

"Come on," She told Jacob, she went to retrieve her surf board before moving to a nearby palm tree.

She pushed on an odd coloring part of the bark and waited as the opening to her getaway rose out of the ground. The lights in front of her turned on while the lights behind her turned off. She was two stories below sea level when she walked into her underground flat. When Betty Director had been down here for the first time she mistook it for a lair until she saw the Kitchen and the living room. The were two doors, one led to a bathroom and the other to a bedroom. The amount of electronics the small space held was immense and the global justice official had been impressed.

"Bath." Shego told the dog as she caught him trying to make his way over to his corner. She walked over to the thermostat and turned the heater on to seventy degree's. She still had to be mindful of her electronic's needs.

Shego disappeared behind the bathroom door and Jacob sat patiently waiting to be called. He heard his name and trotted inside. The spa sized tub the bathroom held was ridiculous but Shego liked it. She liked to sit in it for hours and just soak all her aches and pains away. She quickly bathed the dog and toweled as much water from him as she could before she left him to his own devices.

The raven haired girl cleaned the tub and then took her own shower.

It was warm when she stepped out of the shower.

She grabbed a towel off the rack and wrapped it around herself before moving out of the bathroom. She checked on Jacob and the dog was spread out over his pillow asleep. The bedroom was small but it was more than enough space for Shego. She opened her closet and pulled out a catsuit. Her boots sat neatly on the top shelf of the closet and she pulled down a pair.

She carried her things over to her bed and laid them down before rummaging through a truck she had sitting on end of the bed. She pulled out underwear and got dressed.

There was a section of the wall to the right of her that wasn't covered by anything. She went and touched a portion of it and the wall split apart revealing another set of stairs.

These took her another two stories down to reveal a jet hanger. Shego took her seat in the cockpit.

"This better be worth it." She mumbled to herself.

Author's Note: Hope you guys liked it.


	8. Up Against The Wall

Enjoy.

_**Chapter Eight: Up Against the Wall.**_

"_As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."_

Monique waited outside of the dressing room as Bonnie tried on dress six. Kim and Felix went in search of their own outfits. Monique had bought hers two weeks prior. The booth door opened and Bonnie stepped out.

The brunette twirled slowly in the dress and Monique eyed her.

"I don't like it." Monique told her dismissing her choice of dress.

"I do." Bonnie said.

"It doesn't match your hair or your eyes." Monique told her. "It doesn't even fit you in the right places and that cup is a size too big."

Bonnie looked in the mirror and secretly agreed with the other girl. The dress was also too short for her in the back. Even though she knew the redhead would never say anything for fear of being controlling but Kim wasn't to keen on her wearing short clothing. The dress was also strapless. Why she had even considered it, she didn't know.

"You're right," Bonnie said before going back inside. "your turn."

Monique pushed up from her spot on the wall and walked around the store. There was a lot to choose from but nothing she'd came across so far said "Bonnie". One would think brown hair and hazel eyes wouldn't be to difficult to match something up with, but it was the body and the personality that would be wearing it that mattered the most.

"Hey Bonnie?" Monique asked.

"What?"

"Are you a virgin?"

There was a long pause after Monique's question.

"I don't see how my virginity or lack thereof is relevant to you finding me a dress."

"Just answer the question." Monique huffed.

"Yes."

Monique picked up the dress she found. It was made of white lacey material and had thin straps.

"You're joking." Bonnie said when Monique handed it to her.

"No." Monique answered. "I'm not."

"White?" Bonnie questioned. "What if someone spills something on me."

"You'd be pissed either way," Monique pointed out. "just try it on."

Monique rolled her eyes when the brunette grumbled something inaudible.

Bonnie slid the dress on and zipped it up. She adjusted the straps and the way the dress fit.

"I don't know about this one…" Bonnie said. She was hesitant to step out of the dressing room. She really liked the dress but she didn't want Monique to reject it straight out like she had done the others.

"Let me take a look at you." Monique told her.

"I'd rather not…"

"Don't make me come in there." Monique warned.

The door opened and Bonnie sauntered out. The brunette didn't know why but the darker girls eyes on her suddenly made her feel subconscious about her appearance. She could feel Monique's eye's roaming over her, checking her out.

Bonnie finally looked up and met Monique's stare.

"Shoes."

"That's it?" Bonnie asked. "What do you think of the dress."

"The dress is pretty." Monique told her. "It's the person inside it that makes it beautiful."

Bonnie felt the slight blush that covered her cheeks. She was glad that Monique pretended not to notice it.

The brunette went back inside the changing room and Monique left the store in search of Kim and Felix.

Shego landed her jet perfectly and hopped out. She took her time going to find Drakken, instead she went in search of her most handy tool when she came in for work, her nail file.

Finding the genius wasn't hard, the explosion the rang out through the lair was a beacon for her.

"You're such an idiot." She told him as she entered the command center. She took the nearest seat she could find and rested her feet on top of the control panel.

"Don't get comfortable," Drew told her. "I'm sending you out."

"What a solo mission?" Shego said giving him her attention. "You must want this bad."

"I do and if you're as good as you think you are you'll have no problems retrieving it for me."

"I'm listening."

"I want Kim Possible's communicator…"

"Kimmunicator." Shego corrected.

"Whatever it's called." Drew retorted.

"And you expect me to do this how?" Shego asked.

"How you do it is none of my concern."

Shego's lips pursed together in thought. She had a few idea's on how she could go about getting the small device by devious means but only one real way stuck out in her mind.

"No sweat Dr. D." Shego said beginning to file her nails. "It's as good as yours."

"I had a feeling you'd say something like that." The pale skinned man replied.

"And what am I suppose to do until then?" She asked beginning to file her nails.

"Come over here and earn your pay check," He told her. "I need someone with good mechanical skills."

"I thought you were a multipurpose tool." Shego replied. "You know you can do everything but take over the world."

"Taking over the world is over rated Shego." Drew replied.

They dropped Felix off at home before heading to Monique's. The dark skinned girl stared out of the window most of the ride ignoring the cars other occupant.

"Are you alright?" Kim asked. "Bonnie didn't say anything inappropriate did she?"

Monique shook her head.

"I'm just tired." Monique answered. "I wasn't expecting to go out and critique every outfit you guys picked out."

Kim smiled sheepishly.

"What can I say?" Kim said. "You're good at what you do."

Spending time with Bonnie hadn't been as bad as she thought it would be. The older girl seemed to be a lot less argumentative when Kim wasn't around. It made her wonder if Bonnie did it just so Kim would focus her attention more on her than her friends.

Kim had said she had a short attention span when it came to Bonnie. She thought the redhead had been joking, Kim did have a tendency to wander off if she saw something more interesting than what she had currently been doing.

"One day you guys are going to have to find a way to repay me." She told Kim.

"Carpool much?" Kim answered.

"I just want to know when you lost the ability to dress yourself…"

"Why should I dress myself when I could have you do it for me?"

"That's so lazy!"

"I never said I wasn't lazy." Kim told her. "When I get older I'm going to have a wife that cooks, cleans, and picks out my clothing."

"Oh my god," Monique laughed. "the sad part is you're so serious."

"I know right?" Kim asked bursting out into laughter along with her friend.

Monique wiped tears of amusement from her eyes.

"Just tell me you'll wipe your own ass…"

"If she's lucky." Kim said with a wink.

A surprise met Kim when she got home.

The redhead found Samantha sitting on her living room couch, drinking what appeared to be tea while deep in conversation with her mother. The older woman seemed to be enjoying herself as she broke out into a hearty laughter at whatever it was Shego had said to her.

"He was such a comedian when he was younger." Shego explained. "It took years of patience, trial and error, and dog biscuits, to get us where we are now."

Kim eyed the two suspiciously as she walked further into the room. The two females noticed her and Anne beckoned her to come join the conversation.

"I didn't expect for you to be here," Kim said to Shego. The villainess shrugged her shoulders.

"I just wanted to drop by and thank your parents for their hospitality. I understand how difficult it can be to take care of an animal you have no history with."

"It was no problem at all." Anne told her. "The boys were more than happy to tend to his needs."

"I still feel I should do something for you for inconveniencing yourself." Shego told Anne.

"Will you convince Samantha it is okay?" Anne asked Kim.

"No way," Kim said. "If she doesn't want you to do something for her, you can sure do something for me."

Shego rose her eyebrow questioningly at the younger redhead and Kim wrinkled her nose in a devious smile.

"On second thought, Mrs. Possible." Shego responded. "Thank you so much for your hospitality."

"I really should be going," Anne said. "I've got to be in the O.R."

"See you later," Kim said. "Have a good shift."

"Since when do doctors work shifts?" Shego asked.

"Since when do I enter the house to find my arch foe having tea with my mother?"

"Now, now Kimmie." Shego told her, with what looked like the most adorable pout Kim had ever seen. "You're hurting my feelings, back to "Arch Foe" again?"

"You totally deserve it." Kim said. " Come upstairs."

"I don't think Bryony would like that."

"Stop that, and come on." Kim said running up the stairs.

"You really should slow down," Shego said. "Just because you run doesn't mean there are going to be less steps."

"Maybe not but it does mean there will be less time I spend on those steps." Kim retorted from the top. "and what are you my mother?"

Shego shrugged. Kim was still at the top of the stairs when she got there. The jade eyed girl looked down at the redhead.

"What?"

Kim couldn't help but stare. There was no cynical comeback, no scowl of annoyance, nothing.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Shego said. The raven haired girl rolled her eyes when Kim looked her over.

"You're hiding something from me." The redhead said. She turned and led Shego down the hallway to her bedroom door.

The raven haired girl always snuck in through the window. This was like a short tour for her.

"Just so you know I'm assessing all the other ways I can break into your house." Shego told her.

"I figured." Kim said, she opened the door and turned on the lights.

Shego moved into the room passed the shorter girl. Kim watched the raven haired girl look around her room before crawling onto the bed and sprawling out uncharacteristically. Shego was now interested in what the younger girl had in the bags she was holding.

"I don't think so." Kim told her. The redhead put the bags away and Shego's facial expression darkened mischievously. "You'll see them at Winter Formal."

"Says who?" Shego said.

"You aren't going?"

"I don't know."

Kim did a double take and the girl on the bed avoided her gaze. This was the first time She had ever heard Shego say she was uncertain about what she was going to do. The redhead frowned slightly.

"Don't look at me like that." Shego said. She tucked her hands behind her head and closed her eyes.

"It's a school dance," Kim said. "You're either going to go or you aren't."

"I don't like functions with a lot of people." Shego said.

"You go to VilliCon all the time!" Kim exclaimed.

"I know what I do." She retorted. "I don't need you keeping tabs on me either."

"I have to," Kim joked. "I don't know what I'd do if you ever found and removed the global positioning satellite chip."

"Very funny." Shego said. She opened her eyes when she felt weight on the bed.

"Move over," Kim told her, nudging the older girl with her wrist.

"Say please." Shego replied.

Kim cocked her head to the side and thought about how she should handle the situation. Shego wasn't going to simply move over if she gave in and said please. It would only encourage the older girl do make her do something else.

"No." Kim answered. "Now move."

"Awe Pumpkin, for being rude you have to say 'pretty please'." The raven haired girl teased.

"I'm not saying it." Kim said. "You can give up on that."

"You know saying things like that only makes me more determined to get you to say it." Shego said. "I think you like the abuse."

"We're not going to talk about what I like while you're laying on my bed." Kim told her. "Speaking of which this is _my _bed."

"I don't give a damn whose bed it is." Shego reminded her. "Say 'pretty please' or you sit on the floor."

Kim took a moment to assess the situation and Shego closed her eyes.

There was a space between Shego and the wall that was big enough for her to lay in. Her only problem was she would have to lay on her side and it would be uncomfortable. Kim held in a huff. Shego's arm was also in the way of her laying her head down on her pillow.

"You're not playing fair." Kim said.

"I don't do fair when it comes to you, Princess." Shego responded.

"Fine." Kim said. She tossed her leg over the other girl and climbed over her snuggling into the empty spot. Shego scowled as Kim laid her head on her shoulder and wrapped herself comfortably around the older girl.

"Cheater." Shego murmured.

"Whatever," Kim answered. "Do you not want to go?"

"It's not that I don't want to," Shego answered. "There are just some gray area's I don't feel like dealing with."

"Care to elaborate?" Kim asked. She watched the small blush that appeared on Shego's face.

"It sounds silly when you say it aloud." Shego told her.

"I don't care."

"I don't care if you care."

"Stop that." Kim demanded.

"It's the 'date' factor." Shego said. "My girlfriend will refuse to go, not that I would invite her, but if I were to go with someone else it would just create unwanted problems."

"Then maybe you should go stag." Kim said. "Make everyone your date."

"I don't know if you've caught on to this but Samantha isn't the most outgoing person."

"You're outgoing with me." Kim said.

"You kick someone's ass enough times and there is this feeling of superiority that…"

"You're doing it again." Kim said cutting her off.

"Doing what?"

"Using sarcasm as a defense mechanism." Kim told her. "It won't work."

"Look Princess, It's not that big of a deal."

"But you want to go." Kim replied.

"I didn't say that."

"You don't have to, I can hear it in the underlying message of your words."

Shego scoffed.

"Stop it." Kim said. She could feel herself becoming aggravated.

When the raven haired girl didn't respond Kim sighed and made herself comfortable again. The rising and falling of the other girls chest was calming and she allowed her mind to wander. Shego had given Kim a new piece of information about herself. The older girl didn't like or want to deal with conflict in her personal life.

"Don't analyze me," Shego interrupted.

"If you weren't so interesting I wouldn't have too." Kim said.

The redhead stared at the other girl. It was a terrible habit she was forming but she didn't care. She liked to get a good look at certain people, getting a feeling of who they were, how they spoke with their body language. What small movements she needed to notice to understand what subtle point her social contact was trying to make beneath her words.

"You never told me why you were here."

"Why do you insist on not letting me sleep?" Shego asked. "Every time I'm just about ready to doze off you have to do something annoying like ask a question or think."

"Samantha…"

The raven haired girl opened her eyes and turned her head to look at the redhead. She rolled her eyes when she saw the smile Kim plastered on her face. She couldn't make herself stop blushing. The younger girls face was just a few inches away from her own.

"I sure do make you do that a lot." Kim said.

"It happens when I'm extremely annoyed." She rebuffed.

"Sure…"

"I got called in earlier today," Shego said. "and Doctor D wanted me to nick something I can only get from you."

"Nick as in steal?" Kim asked.

"Lesser degree, Princess."

"But take without my permission nevertheless."

"Difference's of opinion."

"What was it?"

Shego didn't answer her right away, instead she turned her head the way it had previously been laying and closed her eyes.

"Your Kimmunicator."

"Please tell me you're joking." Kim said.

Shego tried to shrug and realized she couldn't.

"I honestly wish I was."

"What does he want with my Kimmunicator?

"Who knows." Shego replied.

"You could have asked!" Kim exclaimed.

"Don't raise your voice at me with that tone." The raven haired girl told her. "It changes my affable disposition quickly.

"I just had the most primal urge to bite you." Kim said. "You're being frustrating."

"But you enjoy it." Shego said. "You pretend like you don't but you, my little imp, do."

"I thought we established we wouldn't speak about what I liked while you were in my bed."

"You thought wrong."

"You're not getting my Kimmunicator." Kim said.

"You're going to have to come up with something better, Princess." Shego said. "My brain automatically disregards statements like that."

"Then you tell me what we should do."

"Might you have one you don't use?" Shego asked. "Like say…a back up?"

"You know I do," Kim said. "Little sneak."

"Then let me have it."

"No." Kim said.

"I'm getting one or the other whether you like it or not."

"Don't talk to me like that in bed," Kim said. "and stop being ridiculous."

"Then give me what I want." Shego told her.

"No!"

"You're making this harder than it has to be Kimmie." Shego said opening her eyes. The raven haired girl pulled her arms from underneath their heads and sat up forcing Kim to sit up also. "I don't want to swipe things from you."

"But you will if you have to, is what you're saying." Kim said. "I know you, Shego and what your doing isn't going to work."

Kim could tell she hit more than a nerve. What she said to hit it, she did not know but with the look Shego was currently giving her she wished she could take it back.

The raven haired girl got up and Kim couldn't find the words to stop the other girl as she climbed through the window and left.

"Frickin' A!" Kim whispered letting herself fall back onto her pillows.

Author's Note: Hmm… See you next week!


	9. A Woman's Scorn

Author's Note: Enjoy.

Chapter Nine: A Woman's Scorn.

Kim laid in bed for a few more minutes and when she heard her siblings downstairs she made herself get up to go take a shower. The redhead gathered her bathing materials and went into her bathroom. She sat her clothing down on the counter and turned on the water. She made sure it was the right temperature before quickly stripping off her clothing.

She sighed folding her arms over her bare chest, she stood underneath the warm spray. She moaned lowly. She loved the way everything seemed to melt away when she got in the shower. All of the days frustrations washed away. Well at least all most all of them. Whenever she had atypical predicaments with Shego they managed to stick out above all others.

Kim shuddered. She unfolded her arms and rubbed herself down with her hands. It was a ritual she practiced in the shower, especially after missions. It was how she checked herself for anything abnormal. She finished her once-over and grabbed her face towel. The redhead took her time washing off and when she was finished she continued to stand under the water. She had a lot to figure out. Why had Shego asked instead of just stealing it. Wouldn't it have made more sense. The actions of the raven haired girl confused her. She had taken the time to actually try and get Kim to give it to her so she wouldn't have "nick" it.

Shego walked through the door of the command center and sat down. Doctor Drakken was mumbling to himself but turned his attention to her once he had come to some type of inner agreement.

"So?" Drakken asked. "Where is it?"

Shego turned her head away from him. She didn't know why she had come back. She wasn't in the mood to hear him gloat about finally sending her on a solo mission she "couldn't" handle. She mentally kicked herself.

"Why do you want it?" Shego asked.

"What?" Drakken asked. The look of confusion on his face was one Shego under usual circumstances would have made fun of.

"Do you not understand English anymore?" Shego asked. "Why?"

The pale man sighed.

"You care." Drakken said. "I knew you had a soft spot but I didn't think it would be her."

"I don't have a soft spot for her." Shego snapped. "My dog, yes. Betty, Yes. My jet, yes, but I do not have a soft spot for Kim Possible."

"Then where is it?" Drakken asked. "You couldn't bring yourself to do it could you? I asked one thing Shego and did I get it? I don't pay you to not get me what I want. Stop your feelings for five minutes and get me the damn Kimmunicator."

The speed in which it took Shego to travel across the command center left the genius confused. The raven haired girl grabbed the scientist by the front of his lab coat, pick him up and slammed him onto one of the control panels.

"I am sick of people talking to me like that." Shego said. Drakken looked her over. The girl was visibly shaking with rage. "I'll give you the fucking device after you tell me, why."

"I can't…" He begin.

Shego forced his torso upward and slammed him back down.

"I couldn't hear you what did you say?"

"You should get that temper checked out." He said, refusing to answer the question.

She growled loudly, and let him go. She dug into her boot pocket and pulled out the green device.

"You've got until morning to look at it, tinker with it, find out what you need to know about it before I take it back."

"We just went through all of that for nothing!" Drakken exclaimed sliding off the control panel.

"Hurry up." Was all she said before going to find something to occupy her time with.

The sliding door to the command center closed and Shego pulled her cell phone from her pocket. She rolled her eyes and the amount of missed calls she had and went through her contacts.

She didn't know why she was calling this woman. She had a pretty good idea of how the conversation would go.

"It's past your bedtime."

"Have you ever felt guilty?" She asked straight out. "Gone behind the back of someone that gave you their trust and took the chance of ruining what you'd built. I mean, The foundation we're building on is a little unstable and I feel like I just took a leg out from underneath an already wobbly table…"

"Orrick…" The voice on the other side of the phone said.

"Yes?"

"Are you going to let me answer the question or did you just need to get it out in the open so you could figure it out on your own?"

"I…" Shego sighed. " I don't know."

"Then let me answer and you think about it." The other person said. "How does that sound?"

"Alright." She answered.

"First I want you to sit down."

"Bets…"

"Sit down…" Betty said in a more stern tone.

Shego sighed and went into the closest unoccupied room. She sat down on top of one of the consoles.

"I'm sitting."

"Have I ever felt guilty specifically about betraying someone's trust?" Betty reiterated.

"Yes."

"Of course I have," Betty said. "It's not something I'm proud of but everyone does it."

"That doesn't help me." Shego said.

"Then tell me what happened." Betty said.

"I'm going soft," Shego sighed. "I've never not wanted to steal something so much in my life, and yet I did it anyway. I let the pressure of being the best potentially get in the way of me getting something, I can't believe I'm actually saying this…"

"Just spit it out." Betty pushed.

"I really want this Bets," Shego said. "I want this so much it's making me angry that I'm doing such stupid things and ruining it."

"Let's establish what "this" is," Betty said, although she had a pretty good idea what the other girl was talking about.

"I'm not ready yet." Shego said. "I can't even think about it without blocking out what it is I want."

"I don't know why you insist on denying yourself the things you want." Betty said. "Trust me if Kim can kick you into a electrical tower and you be okay with it, surely you can mess up and your friendship be okay."

"But Samantha…"

"And Shego are one in the same, and the sooner you accept that and stop toying with her the sooner you two can move on." Betty said. " Shego steals things and Samantha feels bad, normal people call that a conscious."

"I hate you." Shego said with a sigh.

"I take that as a term of endearment." Betty said. "You can always trust an Orrick to do what they do best."

Shego hung up the phone after that comment. She didn't need Betty bringing up the rest of her family.

The raven haired girl sighed and dialed another number, she knew she was just begging for abuse tonight.

"Yes Samantha."

"Mom…" Shego said, her voice cracking, she couldn't help herself as she began to cry. She slid off the console and down onto the floor. The anxiety of worrying about her presumably failing friendship, her relationship struggles, and the strain of wanting to keep her two lives separate was to much for her.

"I think this is your father's realm…" The older woman said. She wasn't good at dealing with her daughter when she was like this. The older woman always ended up saying something that made an already terrible situation worse.

"Sam…" The uncertain voice on the other side of the phone made her smile. She sniffled and wiped her eyes on her sleeve.

"Dad," She replied.

"You know whatever it is, it's going to be okay don't you?" He asked.

"Yes," She said nodding her head even thought he couldn't see her.

"Now get up," He told her. Take a few deep breathes. Find a seat and tell me when your ready."

Shego looked around the room she was in and found a desk with a chair. She went over to the desk and sat down in the chair, making herself comfortable she leaned back, put her feet on the desk, took a few relaxing deep breathes, and cleared her thoughts.

"I'm ready."

Kim groaned as she unwrapped herself from around the person who was laying next to her and turned over to answer her cell phone. She looked at the time and noted it was a few minutes past ten.

She glanced at the caller ID and answered the phone.

"Hello," Her voice was groggy.

"I hope I'm not disturbing you." Betty Director said.

"No not at all," Kim said, sitting up. "I was just sleeping, nothing to important."

"Good to hear."

"What can I do for you?" Kim wanted to know.

"It's not exactly what you can do for me, it's more what you can not do for me."

"I don't understand."

"When Orrick comes to you, you can not get upset." Betty said.

"I didn't plan on it." Kim said. "I kind of backed her into a corner."

"I didn't say blame yourself," Betty said. "I said don't get upset."

"I heard you."

"Good," Betty said. "I want to play something for you."

Kim stayed silent as she heard a recording of Shego's voice.

"_I've never not wanted to steal something so much in my life, and yet I did it anyway. I let the pressure of being the best potentially get in the way of me getting something, I can't believe I'm actually saying this…"_

"_Just spit it out." _Kim heard Betty tell the younger girl.

"_I really want this Bets," Shego said. "I want this so much it's making me angry that I'm doing such stupid things and ruining it."_

The recording stopped and Kim could tell that wasn't the end, but it was all she needed to hear.

The redhead sighed.

"I'm not defending her actions," Betty said. "but it'll take longer than a few weeks."

"Did she ask you to do this or are you doing this in the name of your unspoken of friendship."

"I like to think of it as a camaraderie, not a friendship." Betty said.

The older woman had a bad habit of hanging up on Kim suddenly, but the redhead never took it personally. Betty wasn't good at ending conversations subtly and so she settled on ending them abruptly.

Kim closed her cell phone and burrowed back into her bedding. She tried to ignore the faint smell of the girl who'd been laying in her bed earlier that day by snuggling into the female next to her.

"I don't like other women calling you in the middle of the night." The person muttered from underneath her.

Bonnie nuzzled her face into the nook between Kim's shoulder and neck. Kim groaned as the other girl wrapped her arms around her and pulled her closer.

"It's not the middle of the night," Kim said. "and you have nothing to worry about."

"Oh I don't huh?" Bonnie asked.

"No," Kim said. "Now lets go back to sleep."

"I'm not completely interested in sleep anymore," Bonnie said. Kim felt the other girls mouth on her jaw and shuddered.

"Didn't we agree you'd only keep me awake through the night on the weekends?" Kim asked. She turned her head down and met the other girls lips with her own.

The brunette moaned a response into the kiss but it sounded to much like a protest to Kim.

"If you're going to lay down a rule don't egg me on with your actions." Bonnie said, pulling away and tucking her face back into Kim's neck.

The redhead smiled.

The next morning Kim tried unsuccessfully to tune her alarm clock out until a different alarm clock hit her.

"Turn that off," Bonnie told her, the brunette untangled herself from the redhead and turned over.

"Only if you get up," Kim said. "If you don't I'm hitting snooze and hiding it."

Kim had figured out the last time Bonnie had spent the night on the week day that the girl was very difficult to get out of her bed without a good reason. Bonnie was perfectly fine at home but apparently the brunette needed a little extra push getting out of Kim's.

"If I find it I'm going to break it." Bonnie warned.

Kim sighed, and for the second time in the last 24 hours she assessed the situation of how to get a girl that was in her bed to do something she wanted them to do. She found herself asking "What would Shego do?"

"Bryony get up." Kim said.

Bonnie's head shot up and she glared at the other girl.

"What the hell did you just call me."

"Get up, B." Kim told her. "Or I'll say it again."

"Call me that again and I'll kick your…"

"Awe Bryony not first thing in the morning." Kim taunted.

The brunette tossed back the covers and Kim made a run for it.

The redhead made it into the bathroom and managed to close the door before her alarm clock stuck her.

"Get out here and fight like a man!" Bonnie told the other girl.

"I was told to tell you unless you're now a man whatever it on the first birth certificate sticks." Kim said through the door snickering.

"Kim Possible get out here," Bonnie said threateningly through the door.

"Only if you promise not to try and harm me."

"Oh believe I won't try."

"B!"

"What?"

"Be nice."

"Nice went out the window with the second Bryony."

"What can I do to help you calm down?"

"You can come out here and take your beating."

Kim opened the door and peeked out.

"Would you really beat me?" Kim asked. She would have closed the door before Bonnie could grab her but she didn't want to get the girl's finger caught. Instead she allowed the brunette to grab her by her pajama shirt collar and pulled her out.

The force in which Bonnie yanked her caused the redhead to tumble forward knocking both of them down.

Kim was glad there was a lot of space between her bathroom down and her bed frame or else the tow girls would have been in trouble.

Kim wrestled with Bonnie. The brunette tried to get the upper hand by flipping her over but Kim kept a firm grip on her. The redhead straddled the older girls waist and managed to capture both wrist in her hands.

"Bad Bryony." Kim said, leaning in. Her red hair cascaded around them and Bonnie eagerly met her lips for a kiss.

The redhead yelped when the brunette nipped her bottom lip lightly.

"Hey Kimmiecub," James said as her opened the door and entered the room. All parties stopped and stared at each other.

"Umm…" James said uncomfortably. He scratched the back of his head. "it can wait."

The brown haired man turned around hurriedly and left. The two girls turned their heads and looked at each other, looks of horror etched on their faces.

"Do you think he was mad?" Bonnie asked.

"I think he doesn't know what to be." Kim replied. "He never laid down ground rules about girls."

"I think we should get dressed." Bonnie said. "and then you'll go to breakfast while I sneak out the front door."

"Wow, just leave me out there hanging," Kim said. "Now I know what type of girlfriend you are."

"Get off," Bonnie said.

"It's going to take a little more than the sound of your voice and a command for that to happen." Kim replied, but she did release the older girl from her hold.

The two girls got dressed quickly and took turns going through morning hygienic routines.

"You go first," Kim said, nudging Bonnie out of the door.

"No way," Bonnie said. "These are your parent's and this is your house."

"Chicken." Kim teased.

The redhead bound down the stairs as she normally would and entered the dining room.

"Good Morning Kimmiecub," James greeted smiling at the two.

"Morning Dad," Kim said, smiling sheepishly. "where's mom?"

"She had to pull a double," He said.

"What's wrong with you?" Jim asked Bonnie.

The brunette sat down at the table next to Kim. Her head down in shame.

"I hope you got a good night's rest," James said. "There's some type of bug going around."

"I slept very well Mr. Possible, thank you." Bonnie replied.

Shego stretched as she got up from her spot on the floor. She'd slept in an odd position underneath the console. The bones popped in a few places and she felt much better. She'd managed to get out a good cry the previous night on the phone with her father and she felt more refreshed than she had in a long time.

She'd been a daddy's girl since the first time she'd met him. Shego shuddered. She didn't like to think about the circumstances that surrounded her mother and step fathers first greeting all those years ago.

"Shit," She cursed aloud when she looked at the time. It was already passed nine. Shego rubbed her temples and left the room she'd occupied for the last several hours. She took her time getting to the command center and when she got there. Drakken sat at his desk with the Kimmunicator before him.

"You better be finished with that." Shego remarked.

"I have everything I need." He said, picking it up and tossing it to her. "There was more to this simple device than I thought there would be, but I'm glad you came through for me, Shego. I was starting to have doubts."

Author's Note: See you next chapter.


	10. Hart's War

Author's Note: Enjoy.

_Chapter Ten: Hart's War_

Shego entered the door to her home and looked around. It was quiet. Jake peeked in from behind her wondering what the hold up was. The raven haired girl stepped further inside. She could feel the presence of someone in the room but it wasn't Neelam.

Shego closed the door behind her and followed Jake as he trotted down the hallway. He seemed pretty content, it was obviously someone he knew well.

"Welcome back, Trouble." Joy said. She was dusting the wooden furniture in their bedroom.

"For now," Shego remarked.

"Hopefully not for long." Joy said. "I'm waiting for that girl to knock some sense into you."

"Very funny."

Shego sat down on her bed and dug into her boot pocket removing the nicked item. She laid it down on the bed next to her and removed her boots.

"That's a nifty little gadget you got there." Joy said. "One of those new iPhone's or whatever you kids are carrying around nowadays?"

Shego laughed.

"Something like that."

Shego eyed the communication mechanism and sighed. That thing was more trouble than it was worth.

"Trouble got troubles?" Joy asked.

"Something like that." Shego repeated.

"Talk to me." Joy said sitting down next to her.

"I'm afraid if I talk anymore I'll definitely lose my voice." Shego said.

"Nonsense."

"There's this girl…"

"Oh," Joy said throwing up her hands. "Nothing good ever comes after that statement."

"Will you listen?" Shego huffed.

"Alright."

"We've become "friends" and my latest assignment was to acquire this little piece of equipment." Shego said.

"What does "friends" mean?" Joy asked repeating Shego's air quotation hand movements.

"It means figuratively speaking," Shego said clarified.

"So you're pretending to be friends?"

"No," Shego said thinking about it. "Well…"

"That's what I think of when I hear figurative friendship." Joy said. "But I get the feeling it's more literal than you want it to be."

"Why do people insist on trying to read between my lines?" Shego asked. "I don't know what we have."

"Stealing from friends usually has a negative impact," Joy said, turning back to the subject.

"Yeah no kidding."

"Then why did you do it?"

"I don't make friends easily." Shego said. "It just felt like our "friendship" was coming along to quickly."

"So what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to give it back to her," Shego said. "Place it in her hands and, oh I don't know, try and talk it out."

"My goodness," Joy said staring at her.

Shego jumped lightly when she felt Joy's cool hand press against her forehead.

"I think this is more than "friendship"." She said, chuckling lightly.

"It's barely that," Shego said. "It can't be anything else."

"You're guilty." She pointed out. "You don't become guilty."

"That's not true." Shego said. "Doctor D took her friends wheelchair a while back and that was kind of low."

"So you've known her longer than you're trying to let on."

"You didn't ask how long I've known her." Shego said. "You asked what "friendship" meant."

"So, How long have you known her?"

"Oh I don't know…" Shego said counting. "We were Freshmen's when we first met. Since I was Fourteen maybe?"

"You've lived here long enough to have known someone for that long?" Joy asked.

"Well, not in town," Shego said. "But I was highly employable at a young age in my line of business."

"You really should consider a career change." Joy told her.

"That's the same thing Betty keeps telling me."

"Oh, How is Betty?" Joy asked. "She hasn't been by in so long."

"Yet I've still had my run ins with her." Shego muttered. "She's doing amazing."

"Still seeing that boyfriend of hers?"

"Fiancé now." the raven haired girl replied.

"Heavens," Joy gasped. "He's a very lucky man."

"Yeah," Shego said with a smile.

"You could have someone like Betty." Joy prodded.

"She does," Neelam said appearing in the doorway.

Joy rolled her eyes in evident aggravation.

"I didn't know Betty was a sadistic bitch," Joy said sounding innocent. She shrugged her shoulders. "You learn something new about a person everyday."

Shego turned her head and tucked her face into her shoulder as she tried to hide her smile.

"You're more trouble than you're worth," Neelam said. "Get out."

"Someone who loves you child." Joy said getting up. "Worships the ground you walk on…"

"I said 'get out'." Neelam said. She stood upright, from her position leaning on the door frame. "and don't come back."

"Why would one need housekeeping when they have their own personal slave?" Joy asked as she walked out of the room.

The two women stared at each other as they heard the door to their room close.

"I don't want that woman back in here." Neelam said. "She doesn't know what she's talking about."

"I like Joy," Shego defended. "She's welcome here anytime I'm home."

Neelam glared at her but Shego ignored her. She was feeling bolder. There was something about Betty's words that she had taken to heart. Shego and Samantha were the same and there was no reason she should be a victim.

"You should be careful of your choice in friends…"

"Why is it, you never like any of my friends?" Shego asked. "Is it because they don't like you?"

"It's difficult to get along with those little mongrels you call friends." The woman replied.

"I beg to differ," Shego said. "I find my friends to be very easy to get along with."

Neelam entered the room fully and sat on the bed next to her girlfriend. Shego smiled when the other woman took her hand in hers. The darker skinned woman brought Shego's hand to her lips and kissed the back of it.

"Let's go to dinner," Neelam said. "Someplace peaceful."

"Peaceful is always nice," Shego said. "But I've got two tickets to today's Wrestle Mania and I plan on using at least one of them."

"You sure do plan a lot of things to do without me." Neelam said. She sounded genuinely upset by this fact.

"I said two." Shego said. "I plan on doing a lot of things with you. I just more often than not get stood up."

"You have to find things we both like to do," Neelam said. "You seriously expect me to like Wrestle whatever?"

"Not completely," Shego answered honestly. "But I do expect you to like doing things with me, even if you aren't totally into it. It's only two hours long and it starts at one o'clock."

"I think I could handle an afternoon of over grown men in tiny suits, saying ridiculous things, and slamming each other into the ground."

"Really?" Shego asked, Shego's jade eye's lit up with hope.

"Really."

Kim left the audio visual club with a smile on her face. They'd been receptive of her script. They wanted to make a few changes to it but she'd informed them that they had the freedom to do whatever they felt they need to do.

The redhead stopped at her locker before going to her car. She was tired but she had a few things she needed to do before she went home. The boys had other plans and had decided to stay later. She let them know she would be expecting a call from them if they needed her.

It had been two days since she'd last seen Shego, which surprised her. There were no late night visits, no missions regarding the other girl, no phone calls from Betty. Nothing. She didn't know whether she should begin to worry or not. She shrugged it off. Shego would come to her when she was ready.

Her cell phone vibrated and she stuck her hand into her pocket and retrieved it. Flipping it open she read a text message.

"Outside 6:30?" Kim read aloud. "6:30 where?"

"Outside."

"Duh."

Kim turned her head to find Jim and Tim staring back at her curiously.

"Dweebs."

Kim readjusted the things in her arms and began walking to the car.

Monique had decided to start using her own car again. Something about having made a deal with her father. Kim mentally shrugged. She supposed she go home and out her things away. The walk to her car was short. The boys took their seats in the back. Kim tuned them out when they started talking about building things that would surely get them grounded.

The boys hadn't helped and she hadn't recognized the number. Kim sighed. It was Friday and Winter Formal was tomorrow. Who ever decided to have it on a Saturday was an idiot. She thought about that for a minute and smacked herself on the forehead. She had thought of it. It sounded like a brilliant idea at the time but no one should need all day to prepare for a dance that started at six and ended at eight thirty.

They pulled into the drive way but Kim didn't pull into the garage. She figured she'd be leaving again soon.

The boys got out of the car but she stayed seated for a while longer. The fact that she hadn't had any contact with Shego gave her a headache. She looked at the time, it was six.

Getting out of the car she scanned the area for any vehicles she didn't know, and spotted nothing. She shrugged got her things from the car and made her way inside the house. She dropped her messenger bag by the door and went through the dining hall into the kitchen.

Kim went over to the sink and washed her hands. Kim turned off the water and used the dish rag to dry her hands. She walked across the kitchen to the refrigerator and opened the door. Peering inside her eyebrows rose. All for a few vegetables it was bare. It seemed her father hadn't gone grocery shopping. He'd probably forgotten again. She closed the refrigerator and went through the cupboards she was hungry and nothing she came across seemed appealing. She checked the time, it was fifteen minutes before she would go "outside."

"Pizza." Kim muttered she went over to the phone and got out the number. She dialed and when someone answered the phone she placed an order.

Monique rested against her car, arms folded over her chest. She stood outside the one house she never thought she would see the inside of, The home of the Rockwallers.

Her phone buzzed and she answered it without looking at the caller ID.

"Are you going to come in or stare at my house like a stalker?"

"Stare like a stalker."

"Get your ass in here." Bonnie said opening the front door.

Monique pushed herself off the car and made her way over to the door.

"I don't even know why I'm here," the dark skinned girl said as Bonnie pulled her inside. "We don't even like each other and suddenly I'm over your house "hanging out" or whatever the hell this is going to be."

"You're making this more difficult than it has to be." Bonnie told Monique. "Kim wants us to start getting along and we both know that isn't going to happen with her around."

"I really don't think this is a great idea." Monique said following behind the brunette as she went deeper inside the house. The brunette shuddered and Monique's eyebrows rose as they heard Connie and Lonnie laughing off in the distance.

"That's disturbing." Monique said.

"Tell me about it." Bonnie said. "It would be better if it didn't come out more as a cackle."

They began ascending the stairs when Bonnie's mother appeared at the top.

"Bryony dear," The older woman called. "Come be a good girl and help mommy."

"Last room at the end." Bonnie told Monique the girl nodded and Bonnie went to give her mother a hand.

Monique finished going up the stair before she followed Bonnie's instructions. She got to the girls bedroom door but found it locked.

"She's such a genius," Monique mumbled to herself.

Kim opened a pop tart and looked at the clock, five minutes left. She tucked away the toaster pastry easily and went outside.

She opened the door and Jacob awaited her. He lounged lazily on her lawn.

"Good Afternoon, Jacob." Kim greeted the lazy canine.

The old dog sat up and waited patiently for her to come over to him. Calmly he began to led her away from her house.

Kim scoffed. The older girl hadn't called her or sent her any form of contact and all of a sudden she sent her dog to come and fetch her like some chew toy.

The redhead shook her head. She was contemplating giving Shego a piece of her mind.

Kim followed Jacob and they soon came upon the small park, the boys had taken him to. There in the parking lot, Sitting on top of the hood of her car, was Shego.

"Good boy, Jacob." Shego praised. She slid off the hood of her car and scratched him behind the ears. She straightened and turned her attention to the redhead. She looked her over. The redhead's face was blank, except for the small quirk of her eyebrow.

"Good Afternoon, Kim."

"Good Afternoon, Sam."

"You look like your doing well." Shego commented.

"And you look like you have some explaining to do."

"I already explained my compromising position in this circumstance." Shego said. "You just weren't very forthcoming with providing a solution to my situation."

"You could begin by quitting your current occupation." Kim answered. "Until then I highly doubt your existing state of affairs will improve."

"And do what?" Shego asked. "I refuse to sit behind a desk and watch my life pass me by."

"So you'd prefer to sit in a jail cell and let it pass you by." Kim retorted. "That is a perfect plan Ms. Orrick, kudos."

"I didn't have you come here so you could preach to me." Shego snapped.

"Yeah, what was up with that." Kim said. She thought she'd finally feel relieved when she had the older girl in her sights but apparently, she'd been wrong. The flash of irritation that surged through her commanded to be acknowledged. "The next time you want me, come and get me yourself."

"There's something wrong with this girl." Shego muttered to Jacob. He whined in reply.

"Can you take something I say seriously for once?"

"Not when you use that tone." Shego said. "I keep telling you I'm not five."

"Sometime's I feel like I have too," Kim said. "There's something about certain English word's you don't seem to comprehend."

"You really shouldn't take this personal." Shego said.

"It's hard not to when you ask permission." Kim said. "What were you thinking?"

"Honestly, I don't know." Shego said. "Things are so much easier when you just steal shit and wait until someone notices it's missing."

"Tell me was it the 'N' or the 'O?'"

"I got put between a rock and a hard place. What was I suppose to do?"

"Not do it." Kim said. "How do you expect me to trust you?"

"I don't," Shego said losing her patience. "I'm a fucking thief, you've got to be an idiot to trust me."

"I'm an idiot for trusting someone I thought was my friend?" Kim said.

"I keep telling you we aren't friends." Shego said.

"So now you're a thief and a liar."

"You take that back or I'll punch you into the middle of next week." Shego threatened. She didn't take being called a liar lightly. She didn't care who it was.

"I'm not taking a damn thing back." Kim said. Her own temper rising to meet that of Shego's. She watched the dark haired woman clutch her fists in anger.

"Prepare to load up." Shego said.

Kim didn't understand until Jacob sat next to Shego's side of the car.

"You're just going to run away again?" Kim asked.

"What do you want from me?"

"I want you to admit you were wrong." Kim said. "For once take responsibility for your actions and stop blaming other people."

"I've never once blamed anyone for anything I've done." Shego said moving closer. "Don't accuse me of something I haven't done. That isn't fair."

"Yeah, and taking advantage of me was?"

Kim's body went ridged. She could feel the radiating heat the taller girl gave off.

Shego dug into her pocket and held out the hand held device, which Kim quickly accepted.

"I almost let you fool me into thinking we could be something more than enemies." Shego forced out through clenched teeth.

"Don't play the victim." Kim retorted. "Nothing you've done in the last week makes any sense to me."

"Nothing I've done my whole life has made any God damned sense to me," Shego exclaimed. "So, welcome to my fucking world. You wanted in, and now that you got it, you want out."

"I want out of your bullshit!" Kim growled.

"You asked for this," Shego said.

"I asked to be your friend."

"We can't be buddies. We can't be partners, and we damn sure can't be friends. " Shego felt enraged, but something held her back from hitting the other girl.

"Fine." Kim said. "I'm sick of trying."

She watched Shego turn her back on her and walk briskly to her car. She opened the door and Jake quickly got in.

"I wish you'd stay the fuck out of my life." Shego said

"I wish you'd stop dragging me into it." Kim snapped.

Shego didn't respond. She got into the car and started the ignition, before pulling off.

Kim sighed. That had gone the exact opposite way it was suppose to go and she somehow got the feeling it was her fault.

Author's Note: I'll see you guys next chapter.


	11. Winter Formal

Author's Note: Sorry it's been so long since the last update. Life and not having a beta kind of got in the way. You'll be getting a lot more updates now that my deadline for finishing this story is a little more than a month away!

Chapter Eleven: Midwinter Formal.

Kim looked herself over in the mirror. Tonight was the night and she would more than likely be seeing Shego again. She hadn't exactly thought of what she was going to say to the other girl but she had a pretty good idea that apologizing wouldn't be enough. Shego was just too stubborn to forgive someone so easily and she knew it, especially someone she had opened up to and momentarily allowed them to enter her world. They were taking their relationship to another level to quickly and as much as Kim hated to admit it she was pushing the raven-haired female too far too fast.

The dress Kim wore was a pale yellow and stopped just below her knees the straps were thin and there were small flowers stitched into the fabric. Monique had smiled at her when she saw it. She said it reminded her of a hippie dress but Kim didn't take offence to it. She knew the younger girl meant no harm. It was actually a very beautiful dress. Kim felt its only downside was its lack of pockets. She wasn't the type of girl that carried a purse and Bonnie would have a heart attack if she showed up wearing a backpack.

Thinking of Bonnie made Kim arch her left eyebrow in thought. There was something going on with her brown eyed lady and Kim had an inkling that she knew what it was. No matter how the two tried to play it off Kim was not as oblivious as she liked to feign. Her girlfriend was interested in her darker friend on more than a friendly level. Kim had a completely adverse reaction to the one she should have had. She, of course, knew what it was like to have someone you don't expect to catch your eye.

This brought her back to her current dilemma, namely Samantha Orrick. Her cell phone rang and she left the bathroom to answer it. She tucked her long red locks behind her ear and answered her phone.

"Sitch me." Kim answered.

"Fashionably late?" Bonnie asked. She and Kim were supposed to meet there but it seemed the redhead had lost track of time.

"I'm on my way." Replied the time impaired girl.

"I'll be inside."

The redhead hung up the phone and took a brush to her hair once more. She eyed her car key and then turned her attention to an object that would be much more fun. Her jet pack. Something deep down told her it was probably a bad idea but she really didn't care. She was Kim Possible and silly things like flight were expected of her. She tossed better judgment to the wind and donned the brilliant piece of technology. She climbed out her window and fired it up. She grinned this was much more fun than her car.

Shego pulled into the parking lot that was crowned with teens. Although she was quite shy she didn't too much mind being the center of attention she knew she would be. At least she wouldn't mind it if she could ignore it. If she couldn't well that would be someone else's problem and not her own. They would be the one nursing themselves back to health after she cuffed the upside their head.

She eventually found a parking space and took a few minutes to go over her appearance, not that there would be someone there that she wanted to impress but she still wanted to at least look decent. She had a way of ending up in pictures for their school newspaper lest she look improper. She left her hair down and allowed it to drop over her shoulders. The soft green dress she wore brought out the color in her eyes. She applied a light coat of makeup and adjusted the light black sweater she wore over her arms. It was more of an accessory to the outfit than to protect her from the cold.

She scoffed as she exited the vehicle. She wasn't too excited to be here but she supposed it was her presidential duty. She was supposed to meet Lauren and she spotted the girl talking to a few of their school mates. The girl was beautiful to Shego. She had a fondness for the young girl she took under her wing like a sister. She was sure Lauren would be able to hold her own once Shego graduated. The female had been an easily frightened girl when they'd met. Shego pitied the girl and Lauren's false weakness left a sour taste in her mouth.

"Sam!" The girl called out to her when she looked up and noticed the raven-haired girl staring at her intently. She smiled brilliantly and waved her friend over. The girls around her turned their attention to Shego.

"Good evening ladies," Shego greeted. They lightly bowed.

"Shall we?" Lauren asked looping one of her arms through Shego's and another through the arm of the short girl on her other side.

"Trying to move in on what's mine, Julia?" Shego asked jokingly. Julia blushed but didn't respond. As was the usual. Julia did not speak to anyone. They all suspected that the girl didn't even speak to her own parents. Julia was probably the only person on the planet that could get away with such an act.

The dance hall was decorated nicely there were fake clouds and stars hanging down from the ceiling. Shego rolled her eyes at the fog machine that was going quietly in the background to try and give it a mystical feel. She had a very different idea of what was romantic but the other girls seemed to think that it was great.

Julia turned to Lauren and asked her to dance or at least that's how the other girls interpreted it since she didn't use any words.

"I would love to." Lauren responded with a smile.

The other girls watched the two walk off and turned their attention to Shego.

"Don't look at me like that." She said. "Go find something to do or someone to harass."

Shego eyed the punch table suspiciously. She knew how there was always one jokester that would succeed at spiking the punch. She just didn't feel like suffering through the effects of such poison in her system. There was two things she refused to do, smoking and drinking where it.

"K.P!" Shego heard a familiar annoying voice call out. The redhead girl had just come through the door when Ron called out her name.

Shego scowled lightly when she saw the other girl. How it completely skipped her mind that Kim would be attending this three hour annoyance she didn't know. What she did know was that now that she was there, there was no escaping.

She watched from her corner as Bonnie flanked the girl and gave her a light kiss. They were sickeningly cute together but Shego scoffed. She recognized the type of kiss they shared. It was the same kiss she'd shared with Neelam when they were on the outs. This was often. She'd give it to Kim though, her girlfriend wasn't bad.

"The representative's from Lillian are here." Monique said nudging her head in Shego's direction.

The raven haired female had the strongest urge to turn around to make sure there wasn't someone behind her that they could have been referring to.

Kim looked over and met Shego's eyes. She frowned deepened and she saw Kim's facial expression drop. Shego was more upset with her than she'd expected.

The green and black infatuated female had cooled off a bit since their last meeting but she was still highly annoyed by the other girl.

She couldn't delude herself; as much as she wanted to be friends with Kim she wasn't going to be able to handle the redhead. She was too rambunctious and Shego had the idea that she'd become to clingy. Shego chuckled. Who was she trying to fool? She just didn't want to deal with the possibility of a regular life with the other girl.

The redhead excused herself from her friends and slowly moved through the crowd over to the raven haired female. Kim smiled at her meekly and held out her hand as a new song began to play. Shego stared at it for a moment. This girl got to her in ways she didn't want to realize existed. Why the female brought up so many emotions that she herself couldn't comprehend she didn't know but there was a part of her that was eager to find out.

Shego begrudgingly took her hand and they moved out onto the dance floor. They had an innocent amount of space between them. No words were spoken throughout their dance. The two looked everywhere but at each other but their body language spoke volumes that no one round them could understand. Each step was a small battle of who would control the next movement.

Kim generally won by doing something sneaky like setting Shego off into a light swirl or taking a quick step forward into Shego to set her off balance.

"You can't just dance can you?" Bonnie said her question obviously aimed at her girlfriend. Bonnie was engaged in a dance with a spiky brown haired boy with an exceedingly enthralling smile and warm voice.

"Hey Kim," He said.

"Hey Josh," Kim said. She flashed a grin of her own. Both Bonnie and Shego rolled their eyes. The two little idiots were probably going to stand here and grin at each other all night.

"I don't think we've met," Bonnie said turning to her girlfriend's dance partner. She looked the girl over and found her rather attractive. Bonnie shoved the feelings of jealousy that threatened to rear its ugly head. There was something awfully familiar about the girl that her girlfriend was dancing with.

"Samantha," Shego introduced herself as if she'd never met the brunette before in her life. "You must be Bryony; Kim's told me so much about you."

It hit Bonnie like a ton of bricks who she was talking to. Her girlfriend was dancing a waltz with her arch rival in martial arts.

Kim stepped on Shego's foot. They both saw how Bonnie's eyebrows quirked together out of annoyance.

Was Shego trying to get her in trouble? Kim wondered to herself. If so that was a terrible way to get her pay back.

"You're going to get it now, Kim," Josh snickered immaturely.

The redhead blushed and smiled timidly in hopes that it would earn her some sympathy points. It didn't, Bonnie glared daggers at Kim and Shego held in her smirk of satisfaction.

"Bonnie please," The brunette corrected. "I don't know why Kim told you that atrocious name."

"But I didn't," Kim wanted to say in a huff, but for fear of sounding childish she didn't. Shego smiled. She knew the look Kim got when she was holding back. The two girls finished their dance and parted.

Somewhere in the moment they'd come to a mutual agreement that they were at some type of truce. This didn't sit well with Kim; she wanted to openly apologize to Shego. Explain to her that she realized she slightly overreacted, and she still very much wanted them to be friends. Kim thought about her relationship with Shego. The girl was terrified of the word friend and apparently didn't want any.

Kim looked around and noted the girl Shego had entered with. Lauren, she remembered her name being. They were friends weren't they? Kim asked herself. There didn't seem to be any hostility between them. Betty Director was obviously the older girl's friend.

She thought on that relationship a little. Neither Doctor Director nor Shego recognized the relationship between them as a friendship.

Kim told herself she wouldn't either. Being a friend apparently wasn't something to be proud of when it came to Shego. She watched the brunette take Lauren's hand. A weird fast paced some came on.

A Caramelldansen remix, she remembered hearing the Disc Jockey announce. She watched her friends gather and begin dancing like they had lost their minds. She was surprised to find Shego engaged in this activity.

"Come on Kim," Monique said grabbing her hands and pulling her into the throng of wildly dancing teenagers.

The rest of their night passed in a blur. Kim looked over her shoulder as she was leaving and found Shego walking in the opposite direction to her car. The redhead changed course and followed her.

"I'm sorry," Kim said. Shego turned around and stared at her without saying anything. "I just think that we could be more…"

"I don't blame you," Shego replied as she opened her car door. "Don't force this."

Kim nodded and Shego got into her car. She reached over the passenger side and opened the glove compartment. Kim watched curiously as the brunette pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. She scribbled something down on the paper and handed it to Kim.

The redhead looked at it and couldn't hold back her grin. It was Shego's cell phone number.

"Feel free," Was all Shego said before she closed her door and started her car. Kim nodded and went to her own vehicle.

The raven haired woman considered going home and quickly reevaluated her decision. There was nothing there waiting for her. Neelam had decided to stay late again at the office and Betty Director was babysitting Jacob for her. Unconsciously the villain began in the direction of the brunettes.

They didn't live very far apart, which Betty had insisted was a good thing. Shego smiled lightly at the memories of her first few meetings with the eye patch donning woman. Shego had insisted that she only wore it for fun. Betty Director had two full working eyes and liked to pretend the eye patch was a part of her uniform.

Shego made a quick stopped and picking them up some coffee and a movie although she knew the older woman had more than enough flicks to keep them occupied. The cups of coffee were still steaming by the time she made it to Betty Director's front door. Shego's eyebrow rose and as noticed a nice car parked out front that obliviously wasn't Betty's.

Jacob rose from his spot in front of the fire place as he heard Shego's car pull into the drive way. The faith canine hurried to the door, tongue lollygagging and tail wagging.

"His mistress must be around," Betty informed her guests. She got up and opened the door. She stood there hand out trusting the cups into the brunettes hand. She bent down to greet Jacob who was way more enthusiastic about her appearance than the older woman.

"I take it you're entertaining someone this evening," Shego said, finally paying attention to Betty. She nodded and moved out of the doorway so Shego could enter. The house was warm and the smell of fresh baked goods invaded her senses. If there was one thing Betty Director was good at it was baking. She wasn't much in the way of a cook. The older woman couldn't even make rice properly.

"Sure am," Betty replied. "I thought Jake would be staying with me until Monday…"

"Well he was but I missed him," Shego replied, and with that said she scratched him behind his ear. "And anyway I was hoping you weren't doing anything important."

Betty led Shego into the living room. A beautiful blonde woman sating talking quietly with an interesting looking man.

"I actually just hired two new employees. This is Francis Lurman; he'll be in charge of the budget department and Vivian Porter who'll be working in our robotics department." Betty introduced her guests. "Francis, Vivian, this is Samantha."

Shego growled lightly at the use of what she considered her government name to complete strangers.

"Where have I seen your face before?" Vivian asked.

"Six o clock news?" Shego answered honestly. Francis laughed apparently taking it as a joke. Vivian on the other hand didn't hear any undertones of cynicism and therefore didn't take it as such. The tall blonde remained quiet.

"Why don't you join us?" Betty said. She motioned for Shego to take a seat on the couch. The raven haired woman silently relented, taking a seat next to Vivian Porter.

Since Kim hadn't driven her own car she opted to carpool with Bonnie. Kim's curfew wasn't for another few hours.

The brunette was quieter than usual on the way to wherever they were going. She hadn't actually asked Bonnie where she was taking her. She looked deep in thought. Her brow scrunched together in concentration. Lips pursed as if it would help her come to some definitive conclusion.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Kim asked.

"They're dating aren't they?" Bonnie asked. Kim stared at her blankly for a moment not completely understanding who in the world Bonnie was talking about.

"Who?"

"Monique and Felix…"

"Umm… Yeah actually they've been together a few weeks." Kim confirmed. "I'm surprised you're just now finding out about it."

Bonnie nodded and went quiet again but now Kim was curious. Why Bonnie seemed so upset was somewhat lost on her. She shrugged; Bonnie was just odd like that sometimes. Kim watched the scenery go by and allowed her thought's to travel to her rival.

She fiddled with the piece of paper in her coat pocket. She wasn't going to be like Shego, who had yet to call her. The first chance she got she planned on inviting the raven haired girl and her reddish brown furred companion out to do something. Shego might like something like joining her and Monique for morning Yoga or breakfast with Bonnie.

A smile plastered itself on her face but faltered a little. Shego probably wouldn't accept any invitation that involved her friends, and hiding the fact that they were going to be there probably wasn't the best thing to do.

She felt Bonnie's eyes on her as they pulled up to her house.

"Are you going to come in or send me to bed alone?" Kim asked, even though she knew the answer. Bonnie had gotten past her extreme displease of being in the house while Kim's parents were home but it had lessened to discomfort.

"My mother's expecting me home soon," Bonnie said. "She always wants details about these stupid dances. She always complains about never wanting to miss out on any of her little girl's experiences."

"Well I know a few experiences' you've left her out of," Kim joked. Bonnie blushed but let out a small laugh.

Kim leaned over and kissed her softly. Bonnie's warm lips covered Kim's bottom lip as she sucked in lightly. Kim groaned. Bonnie was possibly the best kisser she'd ever met. Not that she had very much experience with kissing different people but she hoped that if kissing Bonnie wasn't the best she could do, what the effects would be when she did meet that person. She enjoyed kissing the olive skinned girl and the feeling of Bonnie's hands as they explored her body, but she was also a hormonal teenager.

Kim broke the kiss and laughed as she tried to catch her breath. Bonnie impatiently went after them again, but Kim resisted.

"You shouldn't keep mommy waiting," Kim reminded her. She unlocked her door and stepped out of the vehicle.

"Good Night, Possible." Bonnie said before starting her engine again and waiting for Kim to go inside.

Kim fumbled with her keys in the darkness of the doorway but the porch lights came on and Anne opened the door. Kim grinned at the older woman and walked in when her mother stepped aside.

Kim removed her coat and hung it up on the rack. Anne made her way into the kitchen. It was considerably warm in the house. Kim went over to the thermostat and turned down the temperature a little.

Anne obviously wanted to talk to her but instead of making a bee line for the kitchen Kim ran up to her room and got changed. She was quiet as she shimmied out of her dress and made quick work of donning pajamas. She grabbed her robe off the back of her bathroom door and slipped it on.

The martial artist didn't feel like going down the stairs and silently hopped over the banister hoping her mother wouldn't choose that exact moment to walk out of the kitchen. She was lucky in that regard and made it into the kitchen without scolding.

Her mother sat at the table nursing a cup of tea. Kim went in search of her own drink. If anything it could be used as a few seconds of distraction if the conversation turned uncomfortable.

She could feel her mother's eyes on her as she opened the refrigerator door. Here she had a few options but juice wasn't going to be a good idea at this time of night. She decided on milk and pulled out the carton. The younger redhead poured herself a cup and put the rest back.

Kim trudged over to the table and took a seat.

"What do you want to do for your birthday?" Anne asked. "It's usually around this time of year isn't it?"

Kim scoffed. The younger redhead liked to forget it was her birthday. They always ended up doing something extremely annoying so the boys wouldn't get bored and start doing something embarrassing.

"Please don't," Kim begging. "I just want a nice quiet evening."

"But Kimmie…"

"Please mom?" Kim refrained from using the puppy dog pout. Her mother was a special breed and unfortunately had one that would match her own.

"It's your eighteenth birthday," Anne insisted. "You'll be running off to college soon to do god knows what and we won't get to spend many more of them with you as a family."

Kim sighed. She used her distraction to clear her mind. The milk was nice and cold just like she preferred. Her mother's words weighed heavily on her conscious. She could tell Anne really wanted this.

"My choice?" Kim asked. "One hundred percent my decision?"

Anne looked skeptical for a moment but nodded. She had a feeling she was going to regret this decision.

"Sky diving!" Kim said esthetically. "Or hiking way up in the mountains or oh my god. We could go camping."

"Kim," Her mother stopped her. "I'm going to need you to make out a logical set of plans especially if you want your father to go along with this."

Kim grinned. This was probably going to be the best birthday she'd ever had. Well right next to the one she was actually born on.

Anne returned her eccentric daughters grin. She wasn't completely okay with the sky diving idea but she told Kim anything and she would stick by her word.

"Can I have a puppy?" Kim asked suddenly.

"Absolutely!" Anne exclaimed. "And all the animals in the Middleton zoo!"

"I think I heard a no in there somewhere," Kim said.

"You don't even like animals that much," Anne reminded her. "You always claimed that two brothers were close enough."

"I know," Kim said. "I just want to see how far I could push before I came up on an idea you weren't cool with."

Anne smiled but looked at the time. Kim saw her line of sight and shook her head. She wasn't ready to go to bed yet.

Shego was spread out on Betty's couch while the older woman was cuddled up in her reclining chair. Vivian and Francis were long gone. The two were watching one of the movies Shego had picked up. So far what was supposed to be a scary movie had turned out to be one of the funniest movies the two had ever watched.

Betty and Shego were a like in some regards. Their movies were all very similar genres, food choices, fighting style preferences. They complimented each other well and if Shego had ever had an older sister. Betty would be her first choice.

"Stop thinking and enjoy the movie," Betty told her. She had watched Shego's expression go from amusement to deep thought in seconds. "It's not healthy to think about one person so much."

"Shut up," Shego told her. "My brothers called today. They want me to visit them in a few weeks. They mumbled something about some stupid holiday."

"Would you like a ride to and from the train station?" Betty asked. "I'm more than willing to drive your car around town while you're away."

"I know you are," Shego said. "Sometimes I think it's the only reason you like me so much."

Betty grinned and put the movie on pause. Shego was in the mood to talk and she wasn't going to discourage it.

"That is if your master lets you off the leash for a family visit,"

"She's not my master," Shego growled. "If I had a dime for all the times people have called her that over the course of our relationship I'd be richer."

"Maybe going to prison would be good for you," Betty said thinking aloud.

"Turn the movie back on." Shego said.

"I'm serious," Betty said. "Or do you just like doing things I highly disapprove of?"

"Not everything is about you," Shego said.

"Everything in my world is about me," Betty said. "And you're currently in my world."

"Bets,"

"Break up with her,"

"Turn the movie back on and shut up."

Betty grinned and started to movie again. She knew that Shego was listening and highly considering her words but she also knew the younger woman wouldn't do it. She turned her attention back to the television. Shego would do what she had to do to take care of things in the end and Betty knew this.

Author's note: I hope you enjoyed it. See you guys next chapter.


	12. Stage Three: Internal Ionization

Chapter Twelve: Stage Three: Internal Ionization.

Shego entered her home the next day with Jacob and set about taking a shower and going to get an early start on dinner. The last thing she wanted to do was give Neelam something to gripe about. Shego and Betty had stayed up a good portion of the night. It was interesting to see Betty's progression as she steadily lost energy. Shego had finally sent her to bed once they both begin giggling uncontrollably every time they looked at each other.

Jacob watched her as she rummaged through her closet for some of her own clothes. She was currently donning Betty's and needed to get them back to her. Shego pulled out her favorite pair of dark green cargo pants and light grey thermal top. She grabbed under wear and practically skipped to the bathroom. She had not felt this good in months. Her shower was over quickly, most of that time she spent taking care of her hair. Her hair was the only thing she was vain about.

Once she was dressed, she headed out of her room and into the kitchen. She opened up one of her many cookbooks and shuffled through them. She was going after something relatively simple but would have a slow cooking process. The idea of flavors marinating together that made her mouth water. She pulled out her crock-pot and set to work. Dinner was going to be amazing and she was sure Jake would love it.

Kim sat in her room surfing the net. Oddly, she could not find anything to do outside. There head looked at some ski resorts doing research, trying to get birthday idea's. Her mother had looked at her strangely when Kim asked for a budget. She knew that anything really fun was going to cost. She took a break and rubbed her eyes. They were starting to water.

Kim looked at her phone and raised an eyebrow. She wondered if it would be too soon to call Shego. The girl had only given her, her number the day prior. She shrugged her shoulders and picked up the communication device. She pressed one number and then send. She did not think it was weird that she had Shego on speed dial.

"I don't want any girl scout cookies," Shego said as she answered the phone.

Kim grinned broadly. She half expected the girl to look at her caller I.D and not answer the phone.

"Neither do I," She replied. "So I guess we're on the same page."

"So what's up?"

"When not occupying my time by causing general mayhem and destruction… What does a girl like you do on a Sunday afternoon?"

"Well I don't know what a girl like me would do but I'm lounging on my couch reading a book to Jacob."

"He's so spoiled," Kim teased. "I'd hate to see you with children."

Shego laughed. The idea of her with children was comical. She didn't see any younglings in her future. It wasn't really something she thought about. One thing was for sure. They would be spoiled as hell and would never want for anything.

"I'd hate to see me with children," Shego responded. "I'm way too selfish for something like that."

"And there you are pampering your dog,"

"Not just a dog, Princess. A very loyal companion,"

Kim moved away from her computer and walked over to her bed. She was feeling mellow suddenly and did not have too much of a willingness to do anything.

"I have one of those around here somewhere,"

"Don't tell me the buffoon is there." Shego groaned from the other end of the phone.

"Stop whining and no he isn't here," Kim said. "If it makes you feel better my attention is all on you."

"That's strange," Shego said.

"What's strange?"

"All of your attention is on me and yet I've read six pages and have still managed to retain all the information while on the phone with you."

"I'll give it to you. You're multitasking skills are much better than my own."

"Now if only you could admit I'm a better fighter than you are I'd make things easier on you,"

Shego heard Kim scoff.

"I'm your dreams,"

Kim heard Shego rummaging around before Jacob's loud bark was heard through the phone.

"I know the laundry's done you crazy pup," Shego got off the couch and gave Jacob a pat on the head.

"You do your own laundry?"

"And cook my own food, bathe myself," Shego continued. "I even wipe my own ass."

"Funny,"

"You're a winter baby aren't you?" Shego asked. "One of those Sagittarius hatchlings."

"Stalker much?"

"Well yes and no," Shego asked. "I'm no more of a stalker than you are."

Kim could hear the washing machine and dryer doors both opening.

"To answer your question yes," Kim said. She stretched out her legs and lifted up in order to touch her toes. "Why does it matter?"

"It doesn't," Shego answered. "I just wanted to let you know that there will be someone out there that doesn't care that it's your birthday."

"Awe, how will I ever live without being someone's center of attention?"

She knew Shego was smiling when the raven-haired girl laughed a little. She could hear Jacob scrambling around in the background.

"Hey I have to go but if you'd like I could give you a call later," Shego proposed.

"That would be spankin'" Kim responded.

Shego apparently was not good at saying goodbye because the line went dead after that. Kim hopped out of bed and made her way back over to her computer. She pulled up all the files Wade had compiled and pulled up Shego's file. The older girl's birthday had just passed. Kim pursed her lips.

"Samantha!" Neelam slammed the door as she walked into their home.

Shego rolled her eyes. She was not really in the disposition for Neelam to be in one of her moods. Shego slipped her phone into her pocket and Shego popped her head out of their laundry room.

"What?" Shego answered. This was the first time in nearly a week that the two had been in the same vicinity. Shego had only been home once and that was just to get Jacob. The raven-haired girl had been making a habit of staying in her underwater getaway.

Where have you been?" She asked pulling off her coat and tossing her wet umbrella behind the door. She was not too worried about the mess. Shego would clean it up, but as of right now, she felt as if the young raven-haired girl owed her a damn good explanation on her whereabouts.

Shego held in a growl and finished loading the dryer. She did not understand what was so hard about doing laundry.

She heard Neelam's heels clicking as she came closer to the laundry room. Shego was adding another load to the washer when she appeared

"I asked you a question," Neelam said from behind her. "Testing my patience wouldn't be wise."

Shego groaned when she felt her hair being pulled back forcefully. This action made her extremely angry, more so than any time she had been slapped around.

"Answer me!" Neelam ordered, she shoved Shego into the washing machine digging the corner of it painfully into her abdomen.

"Working," Shego managed to get out. "I got tired of being here alone all the time."

"I thought I'd made it perfectly clear what I expected when I came home," Neelam hissed. The grip on Shego's hair tightened when Neelam wrapped it around her hand and yanked downward.

"Why do you insist on defying me?" Neelam asked. "If you could follow simple instruction we wouldn't have nearly so many problems."

"Then maybe you should write it down," Shego answered, twisting to try and get the older woman to release the hold on her hair. "I take it fucking your therapist isn't brining you satisfaction anymore."

"The lack of satisfaction you bring me drives me to find it elsewhere," Neelam replied. Shego managed to turn around enough to shove her girlfriend backward. The Middle Eastern woman let her hair go.

"And you wonder why I don't come here," Shego spat angrily. "Do you really think I want to put up with your bullshit?"

"You just don't want to face the reality you've created," Neelam answered. "Always running away with your tail between your legs refusing to face confrontation head on."

"So you also think that I need to handle you in an appropriate manner," Shego said. "You think that if I send you to the hospital a few times you'll stop being an abusive girlfriend?"

"You'd better watch your language," Neelam told her.

"Fuck you," Shego said, uttering the words slowly.

The two stared at each other fiercely for a second before Neelam turned and left their laundry room. Shego shook lightly as she heard the door to Neelam's study close. The raven haired girl looked down at her hands, they were tented girl but she blamed it on the lighting. Jacob poked his head around the corner of the doorframe, when he saw Shego he went to go check her out.

Shego laughed at her pups antics. He sniffed around her before standing on his hind legs paws against the washing machine for a pat on the head. Which she obliged.

Kim headed downstairs. Ron and Felix had invited to her out to the park. She had never seen Felix play football before but she was sure this would be interesting. She grabbed her sweatshirt from the coat rack in the entryway, donned her shoes and headed to the park. It was not far and the jog did her some good.

The two boys were already there and playing catch when she arrived.

"Hey Kim," Felix greeted.

"Yo K.P." Ron said.

"Got tired of basketball?" She asked.

"Never," He answered. "I just figured I should try something new."

"No way," The two boys looked around as Kim began to stretch. Kim was curious and began to doing the same. She then caught sight of who they were looking at. Bonnie and Monique were walking around the park obviously having a deep discussion. More surprising the two did not appear to be about to rip each other's heads off.

"I never thought I'd see the day," Ron said. "Those two can't stand each other."

"Actually I think they have crushes on each other," Felix replied. "Things have gotten a bit strange since I started dating her."

"You think they're talking about us?" Kim asked.

"It's possible," Ron said. "But you two really shouldn't speculate."

"Why not?" Felix asked. "I'm all down for a really hot threesome."

"Seriously Felix?" Kim asked.

"Sorry Kim," He responded. "That was the little guy talking."

The redhead shook her head and stole the ball from the wheelchair bound boy. She was ready to get started.

"We're waiting for Josh," Ron said. "It just wouldn't be fair to have you against me and Felix."

"That's not fair how come you get Felix?" Kim asked.

"I'm sorry if I'm not good enough for you Kim." Josh said walking up from behind her.

The redhead blushed and Josh smiled at her.

"It's not that you aren't decent enough or anything, but they're both good at sports and let's just say you and I aren't."

"My feeling aren't any less hurt," Josh said as they began to play.

It turns out Josh wasn't bad at sports and Kim liked football more than she thought she ever would.

A few hours later Shego sat lounging on her couch eating dinner. Jacob sat at her feet as his owner watched television. Neelam was still holed up in her study and hadn't said anything when Shego knocked on the door and told her dinner was ready.

The raven haired girl had shrugged. She didn't really care if Neelam wanted to eat or not. Shego was proud of herself at the moment. She finally put her foot down in regards to the other woman.

Shego and Jacob noted when the door opened slowly and Neelam came out. She'd paid no attention to the two as she passed by them to enter the kitchen. Shego heard clanking around and prayed Neelam wouldn't make a mess. She spent enough time in that kitchen cleaning and she wouldn't be to happy if she had to spend extra time just because Neelam didn't know how to use a dish rag and clean up her messes.

The older woman emerged and took a seat next to Shego on the couch. Neelam ignored the television concentrating on her meal.

"I'm going home soon,"

"For what?"

"My brothers want me to visit for a while,"

"How long is a while?"

"If it was up to them it would be forever," Shego answered. "So don't forget."

"I won't,"

"You said that the last two times,"

"I said I wouldn't forget, now stop pestering me," Neelam demanded, dropping her fork and meeting Shego's eyes. The air between them was thick with tension it wasn't long before Shego was done with her food and couldn't use it as a distraction any longer.

Apparently the older woman was still very angry with her over what happened earlier. Shego shrugged and went back to watching the television.

Kim turned over in her bed as her Kimmunicator went off. No one should be woken up before sunrise of their birthday.

"What the sitch?" Kim answered.

Wade cheerfully popped up on the screen a huge smile covering his face.

"Happy birthday, Kim!" He replied. "I have a mission for you."

"Is someone dying?" Kim asked.

"No…"

"Is the world in danger?"

"Nope,"

"Then it can wait," Kim answered. She was about to go back to sleep before Wade halted her.

"Drakken and Shego are up to something big," Wade informed her. "They were spotted checking out a nuclear plant shopping for plutonium."

"Maybe Shego had a bee sting," Kim muttered.

"You really need to stay away from the Uncyclopedia," Wade told her.

"I can't take any missions today, Wade!" Kim told him. "I promised my mom I would spend the whole day with them. Shego and Drakken will have to wait."

"Fine," Wade said. "But when those two start stealing whatever they damn well please because someone couldn't get out of bed. I know who not to call."

"Frickin' A," Kim said ending her Kimmunicator call.

Kim ran her fingers through her hair and made another phone call. She was still slightly peeved at the raven haired girl. She hadn't called her back last week like she said she would.

It rang and Shego's voice answered.

"I thought I told you I didn't want any Girl Scout cookies,"

"Stop," Kim said. "Whatever it is you're going to do to disrupt my day, just stop."

"Woe there princess, the world doesn't revolve around you," Shego answered.

Kim could hear the amusement in her voice. It was much too early to be dealing with Shego playing villain. Shego found Kim's demand cute more than anything else.

"My world revolves around me and you're in it." Kim replied. "So be a good villain for the day."

"And if I say no?" Shego teased.

"I'll bury my foot so far up your…"

"Alright Princess," Shego told her. "I'll do it as, a let's say, birthday present."

"Thank you," Kim said.

"Happy Birthday, Pumpkin." She said, ending the call.

Kim dropped her Kimmunicator to the floor and couldn't withhold the smile that was going to claim her features. She didn't know why hearing that one little acknowledgment made her feel so giddy.

The redhead crawled out of the bed and got in the shower. Kim frowned; she couldn't smell food cooking downstairs and that usually only meant one thing. Kim grabbed her robe and tossed it on. She walked over to her bedroom door opened it and preceded down the stairs.

When she got to the first story it was dark, she felt her way to the kitchen and turned to lights on. No one was there. She sighed. Kim picked up the phone that hung on the wall and dialed her mother's office phone number.

"Doctor Possible," Anne answered. She sounded extremely stressed out.

"Hey mom," Kim said. "Is everything okay?"

"Sweetie I'm sorry," Anne told her. "There was a massive pile up on the freeway this morning, the emergency room is packed and I'm up to my neck in patients."

Kim heard another voice in the background. She heard Anne take a deep breath.

"It is okay mom, I understand." Kim said trying to reassure her mother. "We can go another day,"

"Oh Kimmie," Anne's voice broke and Kim could tell the older woman was crying. "This whole day being about you should have been the most amazing gift ever."

"Mom really its okay," Kim said. "Not only did you give me life, you've given me the best childhood anyone could hope for and that's the most amazing birthday gift I'll ever have."

"I'll make this up to you Kim," Anne sniffled on the other side of the phone. "Happy birthday, Kim,"

"Thanks Mom," Kim replied. "Have a good day and stay away from the caffeine."

"Yes ma'am," Anne replied. "Bye bye,"

"Bye,"

Kim hung up the phone. She didn't know what she was going to do with her day now. Sure she still had her brothers and father but it just wasn't the same. This day had really been for her mother. The older redhead and been weeping all week about how her baby girl was going to be an adult.

Kim felt bad. . Now that she had the day to herself she'd crash for a few more hours and see if the rest of her friends were up to doing anything fun.

The words uttered by Shego popped back into her head and she was happy again. The crazy redhead turned off the lights and headed back up to her nice comfy bed. She stubbed her toe on the bottom step and uttered a curse.

"Now now young lady," Her father said from the top of the stair case. He flipped on the light switch and their path was illuminated. "Just because you're legally an adult doesn't mean you can use words like that in this house,"

"Sorry," Kim responded. The redhead blushed but that stair had really hurt her toe.

"Happy Birthday, Kimmie-cub,"

"Thanks Dad,"

"It's a shame your mother can't be here but we could always go skydiving some other time."

"That would be totally spankin'"

--

I'll see you guys next chapter.


	13. Stage Four: Fusion

_Chapter Thirteen: Stage Four: Fusion._

Kim sighed and flopped down on her bed. She'd just returned from a stressful mission that of course Shego had been a part of. The raven haired female had managed to escape, but Doctor Drakken on the other hand was suffering in a Global Justice prison cell.

It had been a month since she'd had any personal contact with the girl. She had been invited to Bonnie's house for dinner and she still wasn't sure if she was going to go. She knew it was going to be an awkward experience. Bonnie's parents weren't like Kim's own and they had no clue the two were dating.

The redhead ran her hand through her hair. It was moist with sweat and she needed a shower. She relented the internal struggle about whether or not she should get out of bed. Kim rolled until she was at the end and hesitated a bit before she let herself roll off. It was a weird thing to do but she was hoping she would feel less lazy after that.

"Shego!"

"What Doctor D?" The green eyed female answered bitterly. She'd only busted the idiot out a few hours ago and he was already getting on her last nerve. Shego sighed. She was getting really sick of people shouting her name. If it wasn't a cry out from sexual satisfaction she didn't want to hear it.

"Get me the continuum transfunctioner," He said. He was getting tired of watching her staring into nothing. He supposed the fight with Kim Possible had taken a lot out of her but she wasn't very much fun when she was all quiet and not threatening.

"I'll continuum transfuntioner your ass," Shego said. She pulled out her nail file and continued to ignore the older man.

"Would you be of more help if I sent you out to obtain something for me?" Drakken asked.

"No," Shego said. "Get it yourself."

"Oh just go home," He told her. "If you're not going to be enthusiastic about my next plan I don't need you around brining down my mood right now."

"Fine by me," The raven haired female tucked her nail file away and pushed herself from the wall she was leaning against. In all honesty she really did love her job but as of late she just wasn't getting into it. Her fights with Kim just weren't giving her that edge that had her fiending for more at the end.

"Are you alright?" Drakken asked as she got to the door. Head low, shoulders slumped.

"Yeah," She replied. "If you need me give me a ring. I'm going home."

"Sure thing,"

Kim checked herself over in the mirror wondering if the dress she was wearing was going to be too much. It was a gift Monique had gotten her for her birthday. The dark skinned girl had given her the schmiel about every woman needing a little black dress, even if the dress wasn't black.

Kim shrugged but took the dress off. She'd have to use that on a special occasion. She figured dressing down would be appropriate but she didn't want to give Connie and Lonnie something to hang over Bonnie's head once she'd gone. The last thing those two annoying twins needed was more fuel to embarrass Bonnie with.

The redhead heard footsteps of the stairs leading up to her door. The expected knock came.

"Kimmiecub," James called out.

"Come on in, Dad," Kim called, completely forgetting that she was rummaging through her closet half naked. This wasn't lost on the man whom helped raise her once he entered the room. He moved over to the window and stared out aimlessly watching as the cars below drove by.

"What going on?" She asked once she noticed he hadn't said anything.

"Nothing really, I just hadn't seen you all day so I thought I'd drop in and check on you." He said.

"Everything's cool," Kim said. "Bonnie invited me over to her house for dinner."

"Well that ought to be interesting," James replied.

"Totally,"

Kim pulled out a black pair of slacks and a white button up shirt. She exited her closet and walked over to her dresser. She opened the third drawer and went through it until she found what she was looking for.

"You still have that thing?" James asked incredulously.

Kim grinned as she held up her favorite black and grey argyle sweater vest. James shook his head. The young girl had worn her vest religiously for the first two weeks she had it.

"Of course I do," Kim said. "I just stopped wearing it after the boys almost destroyed it."

He nodded.

"Well you know, you're never too old to come to your old dad and tell him how a night out went," He told her with a smile.

"I know," Kim said. "I'll be sure and tell you all about it in the morning,"

"Alright Kimmiecub I'll let you get to it," he said. James made his way out of the room and Kim moseyed into her bathroom to get ready.

The shower she had was refreshing. She was more than ready to take Bonnie family head on. She gave herself a once over in the mirror. Everything was perfect in her opinion. Her hair was pulled back out of her face but instead of just leaving it hanging down she hand twisted it into a bun and let the ends on it spike out in all different directions.

She grabbed her Kimmunicator and her wallet before bounding down stairs and into the living room. She opened the closet door in the entry hall were her and her parents kept their dress shoes. She pulled out a pair and put them on. She grabbed her keys off the hook and was out of the door.

Kim felt nervous as she made her way to Bonnie's. She knew she'd be able to handle anything that came up but the feeling of apprehensiveness wasn't something that was easily going to be dismissed. She rolled to a stop moments later.

She pulled down her mirror and checked herself out once more before stepping out of the vehicle. Bonnie stood in the doorway waiting for her. The older girl wore a simple pair of blue jeans with a while tank top on.

Bonnie smiled at her in greeting, she moved out of Kim's way so she could enter the house. Warmth engulfed her. She could hear the voices of Bonnie's twin sister's chattering away in the next room. The brunette hugged her from behind. Kim sucked in air when Bonnie kissed the back of her neck. The two were very quiet and Kim didn't turn around to face her.

A door opened somewhere in the distance and the giggling of the two older girls became more audible. Bonnie pulled away as foot steps followed. Kim could see her girlfriend's body stiffen when she came and stood beside her.

"We were wondering if you were still around," Connie said once she stopped Kim.

"With that other girl hanging around here so often we thought maybe Bryony had found a new play thing," Lonnie said.

Kim rose an eyebrow and turned to meet Bonnie's gaze. The young brunette was blushing. She wouldn't look up and meet her gaze. Connie and Lonnie turned and looked at each other. They had only been joking but the look Kim had given Bonnie told them something else was up.

"You didn't know?" Lonnie asked.

"Monique's like her new best friend," Connie informed her.

"That's enough you two," Bonnie's mother said from the top of the stairs. Both Connie and Lonnie looked more like their mother's than Bonnie did. The older woman only had three features that matched her younger daughters. Bonnie's mother's skin tone was only slightly darker but they both had the same hair and eye's.

The twins finished their decent and went into the dinning room. Bonnie's mother on the other hand stopped in front of Kim and held out her hand.

"Luna," the older woman introduced herself. It was apparent that Bonnie had lost her voice.

"Kimberly," the redhead replied. She took Luna's hand and shook it firmly. The olive skinned woman offered her a large grin. Kim felt the back of her neck heat up. Bonnie's mother was beautiful.

Do you ever leave this place?" Neelam complained the minute she walked through the door. Shego was sitting on the couch cuddled up with Jake reading what the younger woman thought was a very interesting book on jet propulsion. The lazy dog had his head in her lap looking at the book pages as if he could actually read them.

The fire place in front of them was ablaze and was a great asset when it came to warming up the room.

"Of course," Shego said. She didn't look up from her book she just flipped the page. "We talked about how you're just never home to go with me."

"That's because I'm working to support us," Neelam said. She pushed Jacob off the couch and took his place.

"I self support," Shego said. "The only things you pay for are your car payment and your student loans. I remember offering to help you with both."

"I don't need help," Neelam huffed.

Shego ignored her. The book she had nearly bore a hole into with her eyes was much to interesting to turn her attention away from, especially if it was going to something unimportant, like complaints.

Neelam sat there rambling on about how grueling her day was, all things Shego had heard plenty of times before. The older woman paused and when Shego didn't give any indication of listening, The raven haired girl was just about to flip the page again when Neelam snatched the book out from Shego's grasp.

"What the hell," Shego growled as she attempted to retrieve the tome. "Don't be a fucking douche bag, give it back."

"Shut up," Neelam commanded. She began looking through the book, flipping it's old worn down pages. Shego's irritation level rose as she watched Neelam. The older woman wasn't gentle and before she could do anything one of the precious pages ripped and stopped mid page.

"That's the problem with old useless things," Neelam began once she assessed that the book wasn't worth the time of day. "The only thing they good for is creating a good fire."

Both of their pairs of eyes landed on the already lively fire Shego had made earlier. The book in Neelam's hand usually wouldn't have been this important to her and had it been another book, she probably would have gotten up and walked away right now, but her mother had given her this book for her birthday. The older woman figured she could trust her daughter with something she held almost as dear to her heart as her children.

"You wouldn't," Shego challenged. If Neelam threw it she'd be fast enough to save it. She wanted to know how far Neelam would go.

"Why would I not?" Neelam said. "Listen to me when I speak to you and we wouldn't be in this situation."

Shego rolled her eye's she was really getting tired of Neelam using that excuse to try and get her way.

"Neel there are only four of those books in the world," Shego said, hoping to appeal to Neelam's love of rare items. She figured it wouldn't work but decided to give it a shot anyway.

"There will be three if you don't behave," Neelam said.

"Just give it back," Shego said. "You're only cranky because I didn't run and greet you the minute you walked through the door."

"This argument it getting old very fast,"

"Give me the book," Shego told her sternly. It was no wonder she preferred her dog to people. He, in the very least, was obedient and knew what item's were not for play.

"Stop whining," Neelam said, closing the book. "be a good girl and get me a cup of coffee."

Shego took a step back a thought logically about this situation. She ignored Neelam all the time and the brunette had never gotten this upset before. She usually tried other tactics and pissing her off wasn't one of them.

"You're being childish," Shego told her once she came to a realization. "You don't want me to go home so you think you can do something that will hurt just enough to make me stay. God forbid I go home to mommy without having to give her horrible news."

Neelam growled a threw the heavy book as hard as possible toward the fire place. Shego jumped up for it but her weight was pulled backwards when Neelam got a firm grip on her shirt. She struggled with Neelam but the raven haired girl's attention was pulled away when the loud cry emerged from Jacob.

Shego actually used her strength the pry Neelam's hands away. She rushed to the aid of her pup, he was still whimpering and was probably still afraid.

"It's okay boy," Shego said rubbing him down. "I'm so sorry,"

Neelam scoffed. She couldn't believe how pathetic Shego was when it came to her mutt. It was like nothing else mattered. The book laid forgotten by the raven haired girl. Jacob was more important to her than anything else right now.

Jacob hadn't forgotten about the book though. He looked around Shego and spotted the object the two had been fighting over. He licked Shego and moved passed her. He wanted to growl at Neelam but he didn't. Instead he laid on top of the book and watched her. She would learn to leave his mistress's things alone.

Shego got up, leaving the book in Jacob's charge. She passed Neelam without even a hint of acknowledgement. She headed straight for the bedroom and got her cell phone. Both Shego and Jacob's bags were packed. She pressed a number on her phone and the other end began to ring. She realized it was late and a day early but she didn't care.

"Do you own a clock?" Betty answered. Shego knew the brunette was wide awake and just wanted to give her a hard time.

"You don't have any guests do you?" Shego said. She'd made the mistake of believing Betty was always home alone before and she had regretted ever finding out her assumptions were wrong.

"Do you need to come over? I could always tell Greg tonight is not a good night." She didn't sound in the least bit annoyed and that pulled a string somewhere in Shego's chest.

She shook her head because she didn't trust her voice enough to speak. Shego hated crying. It made her feel weak especially if it's over something as ridiculous as this.

"I know what happens when you get silent," Betty said. "Please don't cry."

Shego's sniffles gave her away. She didn't want to infringe on Betty's life but also wasn't in a position to verbally express that. Gregory was an asshole but still a nice guy and he was always willing to take a backseat for Betty's relationship with her, even though he didn't completely understand the nature of it.

"Hey," Betty said gingerly. She had gotten tired of the silence. "Come on over I'll see you in a little while."

"Don't send him away," Shego said, finally finding her voice.

"Chuch,"

Betty hung up the phone and Shego tossed hers inside of her bag. She picked them up and headed into the living room where she dropped them in front of the door and began putting on her shoes.

"Where are you going?" Neelam asked.

"To my nice girlfriend's house," Shego replied sarcastically. "The one that doesn't just use me to get what she wants."

"You said you'd stop running to that bitch," Neelam said. " And I never gave you permission to go."

Shego felt a slight headache coming on. Her hands began to tingle and suddenly her vision was obscured as it became blurred. There was this feeling of hatred that now threatened to rise up and boil over. She took in a few deep breaths attempting to calm herself. She'd never done so for anyone else before. No one played the gamble of testing her patience as Neelam sat there doing now.

"Don't just stand there," Shego heard Neelam faintly growl. "I told you to do something and it has yet to be done."

"I'll stand here as long as I please," The raven haired girl retorted.

If Neelam thought it was going to faze Shego when she stood up, the older woman was greatly mistaken. Shego barely paid attention when Neelam rose her hand and struck her hard, she felt the stinging of her cheek, but when the hand that slapped her curled into a fist. Shego was no longer going to let Neelam have her way.

Shego's conscious mind shut down as her body went into a type of survival mode. She watched in what seemed like slow motion as Neelam's fist formed a route toward her upper body. Instead of preparing for the force of the blow Shego blocked the oncoming extremity with her right hand and to her own surprise grabbed the neck of her assailant with the left.

"The first one was free," Shego said squeezing harder. She was more than a little pleased when Neelam strained against her hand. Trying to loosen the, what Shego considered light, grip on her neck. Neelam tried to scream but could not force the air out of her lungs as the searing pain of her flesh being burnt over rode her senses.

It took Shego a moment to notice the smoking of her hand she released Neelam's wrist but kept a good hold on her neck. Burnt skin from Neelam's wrist stuck to her own when she pulled away.

Shego inspected the neck of the woman she still held in her hand and noticed no burning. She let go of Neelam. The older woman fell to the floor gasping in pain as she cradled her hand to her body. Shego stared at her faintly green glowing right hand. Yes, she had known for sometime that they produced light, but not once had she ever burned anything. The younger woman touched her right hand with her left and pulled back quickly. The heat the emitted from her hand had burned away all traces of Neelam's skin.

"Hot?" was all Shego could muster up to say. She picked up both bags and opened the door.

Jacob got up from his spot on the floor. He picked up the large tome in his mouth and followed his confused mistress out the door. His mistress had finally been a good girl in his opinion, getting rid of a consistent problem in their life.


	14. Parental Rights

Chapter Fourteen: Parental Rights.

Kim had always thought that her brothers were annoying. They had finally met their match. Connie and Lonnie were a different breed of cruel sibling. The two did nothing the whole dinner but undercut everything Bonnie had to say.

Luna on the other hand was a very charming woman. Kim discovered that Bonnie's mother was an attorney that practiced family law and oddly enough still had time to come home and disrupt her own family unit.

Bonnie's father on the other hand was a very busy man and had only joined them for a moment at the beginning of the dinner by telephone. Kim really didn't know what to think of the odd bunch.

The brunette beside her kept hers eyes glued to her plate for most of the meal. After a while Kim decided she would start having some fun with the twins. Hopefully getting them to talk more about themselves would keep most of the attention off of Bonnie.

Lonnie seemed to be the more quiet one of the two. Only interjecting when Connie would skim over important details to a story she was telling. Connie rambled on about a few new makeup brands she was giving a try. Lonnie smiled shyly over the table at her and Kim began to wonder just how malicious she pretended to be.

The dinner went by much faster now that things weren't going terribly wrong. The two girls excused themselves from the dinner table and Bonnie collected their plates. She led Kim into the kitchen.

Bonnie was still quiet even as she washed the dishes. Kim wondered what had her so on edge but she could probably blame it on Connie and Lonnie opening their mouths about Monique's frequent visits.

Kim realized she wasn't the most average when it came to girlfriends but she wasn't to good for suspicions. She was naturally curious. She would love for Monique and Bonnie to become friends but that was no reason for Bonnie to be as uncomfortable as she was about the subject.

"Why won't you speak to me?" Kim asked. Her voice was low; she didn't want anyone out in the dining room to hear her.

"I hate my family," Bonnie said. Her head was low but the shaking off her shoulders told Kim the older girl was crying.

Kim moved closer to her, coming to stand behind Bonnie. She wrapped her arms around her waist and shushed the quietly crying female. After a few minutes Kim brought her left hand up to Bonnie's head and stroked it softly.

Bonnie wanted nothing more than to pull away. She didn't deserve Kim's compassion. The kindness that came along with the small kisses Kim littered across her shoulders made her silently cry harder.

She stared down at her hand on the train ride to Betty's house; the brown haired female was going to allow Shego to use her car in order to drive to her mother's house and in turn Betty would go and get Shego's car and drive it. Shego didn't exactly know what she would do without the crazy woman; she and her mortal enemy were the only two keeping her sane.

She'd rather not think of her pain in the ass girlfriend though, at least one person who was giving her an ass beating on the weekly deserved to, but then again her mother came to meet her at a local park where they fought in front of a crowd of people to give them a show.

Shego's hands still glowed the odd color green that she couldn't seem to turn off. She never could. It usually didn't last nearly this long. It had always been a lighter green. Jacob rubbed his head on her pants leg in a vain attempt to comfort her. She could feel the heat emitting from them and was afraid to touch him.

She remembered buying her train ticket. There were scorch marks where her fingers had been. She'd quickly shoved the offending piece of paper into her pocket and gotten on the train. She wasn't exactly sure how she would be able to drive Betty's car without melting the steering wheel. She supposed she'd have to tell the other woman about her problem. She waited for her stop and got off at the right exit, it wasn't hard for her to spot her friend. The train was a ghost town at this time of night.

Betty unlocked the car doors. Shego set the two bags down and opened the back door with her right hand. Jacob got in without the command and Shego picked up the bags again and sat them on the floor. Shego closed the door and made sure it was shut before getting into the car.

"How was your ride?" Betty asked as she always did when she met the younger woman at the train station. Betty had offered to pick the younger girl up at her house when Shego had called her back but Shego had tuned the offer down she didn't want to the brown haired woman to go too far out of her way for her, even though Shego knew she would have no problem doing it.

"Uneventful," Shego answered sincerely. She didn't want Betty to think she'd gotten into some time of trouble like she normally did when she caught the train. There had been a few instances where she'd gotten into a brawl with some street thugs and had to kick their ass.

"That's good," The brunette said. It was nice to know that the cops wouldn't come looking for her young comrade.

"I need your help," Shego said showing the older woman her glowing left hand.

"What's wrong with it?" Betty asked. She reached over and took one of the soft appendages in her hand.

"Be careful!" Shego panicked yanking her hand away.

"Why?" Betty asked again taking the hand into her own again.

"It'll burn you," She said quietly, she noticed that the older woman had yet to pull her hand away.

"I don't feel any burning," Betty answered pulling into her drive way. "You're a little warmer than average but it's been that way for a while right?"

"But it was…" Shego insisted.

She trailed off and began rummaging through her pocket. Betty looked at her friend strangely as she pulled out the scorched ticket.

"You did this?" Betty asked, not really knowing whether out not she believed this.

"It's only affecting my left like this," Shego nodded and clenched her hands into fists. "I can't even write I might melt the pen I'm using."

"Maybe there is more to this," Betty thought. She had yet to let Shego's hand go.

"See," She said trying to prove her case.

"I keep telling you, you were supposed to be the normal one," Betty laughed at her friend's predicament. "I'm sure I can get the guys in the lab to help you out."

"Thanks Bets'" Shego grinned. She could always count on the other female.

Eventually the two girls managed to sneak away from the other members in the house and make their way up stairs to Bonnie's room. The girl pulled the key to her lock out of her pocket and unlocked the door.

"How long have you had to lock your door?" Kim asked. Sure the boys went through her stuff but she never had to have her door locked at all times.

"Since I was twelve," Bonnie answered. "My mother could never figure out a way to get them to be nicer to me."

"Something's will never change," Kim replied.

Bonnie's eastward facing room was simply decorated. Her walls were a pale blue and she had hardwood floors. There was a window on the wall to Kim's right and Bonnie's loft bed was across from it.

"I would have never expected you to have a loft bed," Kim said. "I always imagined some princess like fortress with leather hanging from everywhere."

"You apparently have a very wild imagination," Bonnie said.

There were a lot of books in her room. There was a dresser against the east wall. On top of the dresser was Bonnie's television and above the television was shelves stocked with movies and CD's. Apparently Bonnie had, had a lot of time on her hands growing up.

There was a desk with a computer on it. The chair to the desk was the only sitting space in Bonnie's area. It seemed like guests weren't always welcome. Kim took a seat in it and Bonnie climbed the ladder to her bed. She sat up there, feet dangling over the side.

"Okay spill," Kim said. "Felix and I have a side bet going and I would like to know if I'm getting ready to lose a lot of money,"

"You two bet on us?" Bonnie asked skeptically.

"Just tell me what's been going on," Kim said.

"Nothing's going on,"

"So you and Monique just became BFF's over night?"

The brunette sighed. She didn't exactly know how to describe what was going on between herself and Monique. She couldn't meet Kim's eyes, even if she hadn't done anything to feel guilty about something made her feel like she was betraying the redhead before her.

"I'll start from the beginning," Bonnie told her. "There was this dress…"

Shego stared into the most beautiful blue eyes she'd ever seen a man have. Gregory Price stared back across the table at her. They were locked in battle. He was a tall guy. He wasn't much built but he was by no means out of shape. His hair was prematurely graying and his well trimmed beard made him look much older than he actually was. Betty rolled her eyes. She didn't know who was going to get up and hump the other to show dominance but she was sure it would happen soon if she didn't interject.

"Will you two knock it off and eat," Betty said. "You're annoying me."

"That sounds like a personal problem," Gregory answered. He had an English accent that had been heavier when Shego first met him, now it was much clearer to her what he was saying.

"It won't be when I punch both of you," Betty said. "I'm serious. You need to go to work and we have things we need to get done."

The two broke eye contact and set about eating the breakfast Shego had gotten up early to prepare for them. Betty wasn't much of a breakfast person. It was just a few extra hours she could spend sprawled out in bed before having to go back to work. Her stomach growled as she looked at her plate. She supposed she could do the plate in front of her a favor and eat its contents.

"I hear you're setting things ablaze with your flaring personality," Gregory remarked after taking a few minutes to enjoy the beginning of his meal.

"I didn't tell him on purpose," Betty said quickly. "He's an eavesdropper."

"Not really on fire just heating them enough to reach their burn point I suppose," Shego responded. "Nothing special."

"Just do me a favor," Gregory said. "Stay away from your annoying brothers, they'll try and turn you to the dark side."

"Thanks for the advice," Shego said.

They continued to eat in relative silence. Gregory smiled across the table at Betty. His eyes lighting up like a kid on Chrisman morning. He thought she was one of the most beautiful things he'd ever had the pleasure of laying his eyes on.

Shego wanted to giggle. It was amusing to watch the blush of embarrassment creep up on Betty's face. Her friend looked happy. More than Shego ever recalled having seen her before.

It wasn't long before he got up gathering his dishes he went into the kitchen. Betty looked up and met Shego's gaze. Immaturely the older woman stuck her tongue out at the raven haired girl. It caused Shego to finally give into her want to laugh.

Betty joined her but her jovialness was cut short by the stench of something burning. Smoke rose from underneath the table where Shego sat. The younger girl had been gripping the edge of the table cloth and it had begun to catch fire.

"Shit," Shego said. The fire alarm over the table blared as Shego smothered the flame. She gave Betty an apologetic look and Betty returned it with a sympathetic smile.

"Maybe we should go," Betty said setting down her silver ware.

Shego nodded and got up. The two women gathered their used dishes and moved into the kitchen. Betty took Shego's and rinsed them off before sticking them in the dish washer.

Shego went and got Jacob from the backyard. Once they left Betty's house they wouldn't be returning for a few weeks.

The raven haired female hated Global Justices headquarters with a passion. Everyone inside thought she was out to kill them, even if no one she'd ever engaged with had been met with their demise. The scowl on her face alerted Betty to the younger girl's ever sour growing mood.

The maze of hallways were well-known to her, they never put her in a different room when she was in the infirmary. Doctor's she was familiar with kept their distance. Betty wasn't exactly sure if it was because of Shego's disposition or the growling Jacob met everyone in a white lab coat with.

"You two are starting to make me edgy,"

"If you were surrounded by people that looked at you the way they do me you'd have my temperament too," Shego grumbled.

"So if you like her what's the problem?" Kim asked.

Bonnie stared out of her window. She was such an emotional wreck she could barely stand to look at the redhead. When she did gather up enough courage to meet the other girls eyes she found the hero grinning at her mischievously.

"I hate you," Bonnie replied. She couldn't help but smile back.

"I don't know why you're making this so much harder than it has to be," Kim replied. "You're entitled to having feelings for someone else."

"We don't exactly have an open relationship Kim," Bonnie said. "And I'm pretty sure Felix doesn't want to share."

The redhead shook her head.

"You're right, but now that I know the feelings you have for her are stronger than the ones you possess for me I can no longer be the obstacle in your way,"

"I just don't want you to feel like our relationship doesn't mean anything to me," Bonnie said. "It's just; I feel the nature of it changing and not just on my end."

"I know," Kim replied. "Perhaps it's why I don't have any negative feelings about this like I should."

"Well then," Bonnie exclaimed jumping down from her loft. She offered Kim her hand. "Friends?"

"Best," The redhead replied.

Shego wiggled her fingers. The black gloves she wore fit tight on her hands and were fashioned to resist giving way to the extreme heat radiating from her hands. The raven haired girl placed her hands on the leather material of the chair she was sitting in. When it wasn't instantly incinerated she felt a small leap of joy.

The smile she had on her face fell. She wouldn't be able to wear these gloves all the time. The material was durable but eventually she would have to replace them. She found it funny that the organization that was supposed to be hunting her down was aiding her. Still she stared at her hands. She made a fist. The glove didn't restrict the movement.

"It'll even sustain fighting Ms. Possible," Betty said. She was sitting across from the raven haired villainess.

"I'll test drive these bad boys on my mother," Shego said. "If they can withstand her, they can withstand anyone."

An odd shiver passed down Shego's spine at the mention of her mother. She looked over at Betty the brunette had the same expression on her face.

"Oh my god!" They coursed, whipping their heads around to look at the clock. Shego had been due at her mother's house nearly an hour ago.

"She's going to murder me," the young raven haired girl whined.

Betty held in a smirk. It was sometimes hard to remember just how old Shego was until she went and displayed demeanors like this one.

Betty dug into her pocket and handed the girl her car keys.

"Why don't you just tell your mother you've got shit loads of money and a nice car?" The older woman asked.

Shego caught the keys and shrugged.

"She's not supposed to know I've got a job like this," Shego answered. "She thinks I earn all my money tutoring junior high school kids on the weekends."

"You keep living in denial," Betty told her. "Call me when you get there, let me know you made it there okay."

Shego smiled and dashed out of the door, Jacob at her heels. The young girl raced through the maze of hallways and no one paid attention to her. She figured she ought to feel special but she didn't. She felt like a caged animal whenever she stepped through these doors and there was nothing she wanted to do more than get out of here.

She found the exit and long last and welcomed freedom. She knew that the gloves on her hands were only a temporary fix as she got into the vehicle. Jacob lay down in the back seat and settled in for the drive.

The drive from Middleton to the mountainous region of Go city only took her a few hours. Traffic was still relatively light. She made a few stops along her journey. She'd made sure to give Jacob a chance to run around and eliminate if he needed to.

Her cell phone hadn't rang and she knew from prior experiences that that wasn't something to be happy about so after their last stop Shego set out to get there as fast as the speed limits would allow.

Jacob stood on the back seat and stuck his head out of the window as he felt their approach to the Orrick home. Give a few squirrels all was quiet for a large house with five males and only one female.

Shego drew in a deep breath and got out of the car. Jacob hopped out after her. The red furred dog ran off down one of the trails that led away from the house. Shego watched him go. At least she now knew where the boys were.

She grabbed their bags from the back seat and made her way up to the front door. This was usually unlocked. No one in their right mind would ever dream of robbing their house.

The door opened before Shego could even reach for the doorknob. She looked up and was met with a wise set of green eyes. Dark tresses hung down as they covered the older woman's stern shoulders and ended just below her waist line. Shego unyieldingly met her mother's gaze. She and the woman before her looked so much alike they Shego often wondered if her father really did have any part in her creation.

The eyes of the older woman softened and she held out her hand. Shego grinned and handed her mother Jacob's bag. The tall raven haired woman stepped aside and allowed her offspring to enter the house. Shego slipped off her shoes and waited for her mother to address her.

"Where is Jacob?" She asked moving from the entry way and further into the house.

"He ran off when I let him out of the car." Shego said. "I take it the boys are off to the creek."

"I suggest you go upstairs and unpack," Her mother said. "When the boys come back you won't have the luxury of time to yourself."

Shego turned to leave and she got halfway up the stairs before her mother's voice stopped her.

"Henry is home."

Shego scoffed and continued her way up. Her mother hadn't given her warning soon enough. She rounded the small curve of their stairs and almost ran into her oversized sibling. The two locked eyes and Shego scowled.

"What are you staring at?" Shego asked.

"You in those ridiculous gloves," Hego retorted. "Are you not aware of what season it is?"

"Are you aware of how close you are to getting your ass thrown out of a window?" Shego asked.

"Now, now little sister," He said. "Let's not get violent."

"Then move," She said annoyed. Hego had one of those ridiculous looks on his face. She knew something her mother wouldn't approve of was about to happen.

"Give me a hug," Hego said moving closer with his arms spread wide. "It's been so long."

"Touch me and I'll kill you," She said throwing up her hands in protest. The gloves fell to the floor. Her hands became a steady green. Hego picked her up into a bear hug. She was tempted to give him third degree burns but didn't think her mother would find it funny. Instead she brought her free right elbow up and rammed it into the side of his face.

She knew it hadn't hurt him but it did give her the desired results. Hego set her back down on the stairs. He brought his large hand up and rubbed his reddened face.

"Don't you feel better?" Hego asked.

"Do not fucking touch me again," She growled while bending over to retrieve her gloves.

"Okay, okay," Hego said laughing as she pushed passed him.

Shego continued her way up the stairs and made it to her room. The mere sight of Hego irritated her to the point of no return. She tossed her bag onto her bed and breathed in a heavy sigh.

The raven haired girl's nose detected a burning stench. She looked around and when her eyes caught the sigh on smoke she looked down. Half of her shirt had been turned to ash. She quickly unpacked and hopped into the shower hoping that the cool water would help calm her down. The cold water hissed as it hit her bare skin, it took her a moment to notice that her feet where slowly sinking as she super heated the floor underneath her.

"Oh great," Shego muttered, she wasn't sure how she'd explain this to her parent's.


	15. Stage Five: Energize

Chapter Fifteen: Stage Five: Energize 

Kim drove home from Bonnie's house oddly feeling good about how the night had gone. She was sure that she and Bonnie's friendship would remain strong. The only issue that remained in her opinion was Monique's dating Felix. She didn't understand how the dark skinned woman had started up a relationship with the brunette if she had feelings for Bonnie.

She pulled into the driveway and hopped out of the car. No one was home when she entered the house. She figured the boys were away sleeping over at their friend's house. Anne had told her she'd probably be working late and she had no clue where her dad was. She'd probably end up giving him a call.

Kim's Kimmunicator's phone portion vibrated and she dug into her pocket to answer it. She looked at the caller I.D and couldn't help the smile that tugged at her lips. An odd fluttering happened somewhere inside her as she pressed the talk button.

"What's up with those cookies?" Kim answered.

"Sorry Pumpkin," Shego answered. "I just don't like them very much."

"I suppose everyone's entitled to their own feelings," The redhead responded. She slipped off her shoes in the door way and climbed the stairs to her bedroom.

"Doing anything interesting for the remainder of the weekend?"

Kim's left eyebrow quirked out of curiosity. That was a line that would usually build up to some type of invitation. Kim thought on her answer before responding. Unfortunately in doing so there was a long uncomfortable pause.

"Well, never mind then," Shego answered not really knowing how to feel.

"Awe, don't go getting your feelings hurt," Kim told her. "I was thinking."

"Well I don't have all night for you to think," Shego told her.

"Does your girlfriend know you call me in the middle of the night?" Kim asked her. "Asking me what I've got plans to do for the rest of my free time."

"You're pinching a nerve with that one, Princess," Shego warned her.

"I'm not doing anything for the rest of the weekend," Kim said. "I was going to go run around with Felix and Ron but I don't think that'd be much fun."

"So if something more interesting to do happened to come along…"

"I'd be easily persuaded to engage in said activity,"

"Do you like to hike?"

"I like hiking alright," Kim said almost as if the prospect bored her. "Not as much as I like other things but I guess since it is physical activity…"

"That's too bad," Shego told her. "My mother and I were looking for someone with enough stamina to beat us to the top of this ridge but I guess since you aren't up to it."

"Well I could fit you in," Kim said.

Kim was a little taken back by Shego bringing up her mother. The redhead had never considered that the raven haired girl was in contact with her mother and if she was, she was just as close to her as her brothers were.

"Naw," Shego said. "I wouldn't want you to inconvenience yourself."

"What kind of trouble are you getting yourself into anyway?" Kim asked. "You hang out with your mother?"

Shego paused not really sure if she wanted to talk to Kim about her mother. Her family wasn't as serious an area as Neelam but they were pretty close.

"I'm visiting," Shego revealed. "I may be a big bad villainess but if I don't come home and see mommy she'll steal my soul."

Shego's words produced a laugh from Kim like none the raven haired girl had ever heard before. It brought a smile to her own face. She didn't know where she was going to go with the conversation when she first started it but she was glad she'd called. Her mother had just got done grilling her about the demolished upstairs bathroom and told her she'd have to deal with her father when the older man came in from work.

"You become more and more normal to me everything we talk," Kim said. "Does she ground you too?"

"No time for all that," Shego said. "That would require actual parenting."

"So how does that almighty Shego receive parental punishments?"

"She beats me," Shego said. "What did you think?"

"Beats you?" Kim asked.

"I did say that in English right?"

"Cut it out," Kim said. "Define beats you,"

"I've learned not to run," Shego said. "She's an alright martial artist. In a few years I'll be able to take her out."

Kim had a hard to hearing the last part of Shego sentence. The girl's words had gone down to a mere whisper.

"I'm going to put you on speaker for a second," Kim told her. "I need to change my clothes."

"This isn't some naughty chat line Kim," Shego said. "Keep your clothes on."

"I could make it one," The redhead teased. There was an unnerving bout of silence from Shego's side of the phone. At least she'd found out how to get the raven haired girl to stop making her sarcastic remarks.

"Umm…" Shego said. "I think I hear Jacob calling."

"Uh huh, sure you do." Kim said. "I've read all about you Catholic schoolgirls."

"You have no idea," Shego said and then wished she hadn't. There was no way she was going to entertain this conversation.

"Was that a challenge?" Kim asked.

"Take that as you'd like," Shego said. "Just don't make any of the schoolgirls I know the object of your research."

"Awe," Kim whined even though it came out muffled as she pulled her vest and shirt over her head. "That would mean I'd have to actually get to know someone first."

"God forbid," Shego said. "At least you aren't like that kid that listens to all of your phone conversations. Does he even actually talk to people face to face?"

"Every once in a while," Kim said. "Don't change the subject."

"I'm going to let you go so you can go find your schoolgirl," Shego said. "I think my father's home."

"Good night, Samantha." Kim said.

The conversation ended and Kim changed into her pajamas. She couldn't stop thinking about Shego's family. She wondered what they were all like as a unit. The redhead frowned. What kind of people raised a bunch like Shego and her siblings? As least she knew where Shego got some of her fighting abilities from.

Kim's jaw dropped. Shego had mentioned that she couldn't beat her mother. Shego and her own abilities were evenly matched so that meant there was someone out there possibly more satisfying to fight than Shego.

Kim contemplated her next day carefully. She hadn't had anything planned but Shego's phone call definitely sparked something within her.

Shego tossed her phone onto her bed and to excited to bounded down the stairs she jumped over the railing like a kid on Christmas morning when her suspicions where confirmed. Her father was indeed home and down stairs listening to the twins insistent chattering.

His back was away from her but the look on the twins faces as she entered the living room made him turn around.

"There's my little girl," he said. The brawny man that was her father opened his bulky arms and swept Shego into a gentle hug. The teen, to Hego's annoyance, didn't struggle against it. He set his only daughter down and held her out to get a good look at her.

She looked scrawny next to her father's large frame, but no scrawnier than she always looked. She shifted underneath his gaze. He lifted his hand and removed the dark locks that hung down into her face. His own long hair was pulled back out of his face and black rimmed glasses sat steadily on his face.

"Welcome home, Samantha." His deep voice was soft when he addressed her. Shego blushed and jumped uncharacteristically back into her father's arms.

"Thanks dad," She whispered. He smiled and again pulled her away. His face expression became serious.

"Now tell me," he said. "What's this your mother said about you destroying the upstairs shower?"

"Opps?" She said looking at him like a five year old that didn't really have a good excuse.

"It's something I'd have to see to believe right?" He asked. He moved aside her and the young girl followed closely behind him. They went up the stairs. The hallways that led to Samantha's bedroom seemed longer now that she was walking toward it with her father.

He entered her room and turned on the lights walking over to the bathroom door. He repeated the action with the lights.

"Well," he said peering over at the shower. "You really did a number on this didn't you?"

Shego nodded quietly from behind him. She didn't know why she felt like she wanted to be two feet tall. It was an accident after all not like she'd tossed her over sized brother down into it and stomped on him repeatedly.

"Hunter," Her mother said from behind them in the doorway. "Here is where you ask how she did it,"

"Oh Karrie," He said. "Let me investigate first."

Both women rolled their eyes. Shego's old man was an investigator for the local police department. Puzzles were his thing. It didn't matter what kind it was but you wouldn't be able to pull him away before he'd reach at least his first conclusion.

He looked toward her and then at the floor. He rubbed his neatly trimmed beard. He bent down and rubbed his finger along the shower floor. The waxy residue left on his fingers made him purse in thought.

"You melted through fiberglass," He asked. "I thought you knew better than to play with fire. You would have needed something as hot as a blow torch to do this type of damage."

"I don't own any blow torches," Shego said. "Unless you count the little ones you use on cakes."

"What's with the gloves?" Hunter asked. "You got some new found germ phobia?"

"If she tells you it'll ruin the surprise," Karrie responded.

"You did this with your feet?" he asked incredulously. The gentle giant continued to stroke his beard. "I don't think I understand."

"Would you like to sleep on it?" Shego offered.

"No," he responded. "I just don't understand why it took so long. Your brothers gained their abilities soon after."

"I don't even know what it is," Shego told him. "So when you figure it out you let me know."

"I don't think it works that way," Karrie said leaving the doorway.

"I'm afraid your mother is right," Hunter said. "And you know how painful that is for me to admit."

The raven haired woman scoffed. She scanned Shego's room and her attention was pulled to the carpeting. She stopped and stared at the lower hard spots.

"Samantha,"

"I had to get out of the shower you know," Shego said.

"You're fixing all of this yourself before you leave," Karrie told her. "And your proud father over there will give you a hand."

Shego and Hunter looked at each other and smiled simultaneously.

"And you're paying for it out of your "tutoring" allowance," Karrie continued. "This reminds me..."

Shego gulped audibly. The raven haired girl shot out of the door past her mother. The older woman smirked. She'd done well to instill the fear of god into her children and for a moment she'd thought that Samantha had gotten away from her.

"And you wonder why she hides things from you," Hunter told her shaking his head slowly.

"That's not what saddens me," Karrie told him. "It's that fact that she thinks she can."

Kim jumped up and down on her bed early the next morning. She was waiting for her ride. She had exactly twelve hours to execute her plan. She was going to go and find herself a schoolgirl. She smiled. The redhead knew that she was taking Shego's challenge a little too literal but she shrugged it off.

Kim heard the light thumping of copter wings and knew her ride was quickly approaching. She grabbed her gear bag and stepped out onto her roof. The approaching aircraft lowered. The pulsing of the rotors making the houses next to it rumble violently. The helicopter leveled out and the door opened. The young girl hopped on and greeted the pilot with a wave.

The young man smiled back and she strapped herself in. The ride wouldn't be long so she pulled out a book and settled in for the ride. Random thoughts kept pulling her away from her reading and she wondered if she was doing the right thing. Shego probably wouldn't appreciate her crashing in. She'd have to do this at just the right time.

The redhead thought about what she'd do. It would definitely take her a few hours to hike to her destination. She got antsy and put her book away. She turned her attention to the scenery that was whizzing by. Twenty minutes later they began their decent.

Kim was out of her seat in no time. The rotors halted and the pilot got out.

"Be sure and have Wade radio me in before you actually arrive here," He said. "I'd hate for you to be out here at night just waiting on me."

"It's no big," Kim said. "I might just use the rest of my weekend and explore."

Kim stood around and chatted for a few more minutes and then headed out. She pulled out her navigational device and checked every once in a while to make sure she was going in the right direction.

Some rustling in the nearby tree's caught Kim's attention and she shrugged her shoulders before bounding after what creature had made the noise.

Shego groaned. Her family sat around the table and ate breakfast. This definitely wasn't something she'd missed. The boys were messy and Hego ate with his mouth open. Shego's mother read the newspaper and Hunter sat engaged in light conversation with Mego who insisted on talking about his favorite subject. Himself.

"So what do you ladies have planned today?" The older man said pulling himself out of his conversation and turning his attention to the two women at the table.

"We're going on a lovely little walk," Karrie answered setting down her paper.

"In other words," Shego said. "She's going to get me far enough away from the house so we don't destroy anything and then she's going to try and kill me."

"Just like those wonderful mothers in the wild Shadow,"

"Can we come?" Wego asked.

"No," both females answered.

"Why not?" Wallace asked. "You always hog her when she comes,"

"And then you scare her off so she doesn't come back for months." Walter argued.

"Don't talk to her like that," Hego said, his voice self righteous as he lowered his fork.

"No one's speaking to you," Walter snapped. He wasn't in the mood to take Hego's crap this early in the morning.

"Guys calm down," Shego interjected. "You'll have your time."

Walter and Wallace both crossed their arms over their chests. The same thing happened every time their sister came home. Their eyes squinted in a glare. They glowered at their mother. Karrie ignored them and went back to her paper. Which only further served to make the boys angry. The two redheads got up and left the table.

"Hey get back in here and clear your dishes," Hego demanded.

"Fuck you," Wego replied.

"Watch your language," Hunter said. He choose to ignore the boys behavior as well. Shego and Mego met each others eyes over the table.

"Don't worry," The purple haired boy said. "I won't want to spend any quality time with you."

Shego smiled. She could always count on Mego to be the least of her problems. It paid to have a brother who was actually self absorbed. She turned her attention to Hego and he began to speak.

"Don't worry," She said. "I don't want to spend any time even looking at you."

"Samantha," Karrie said lowly.

The younger raven haired girl got the hint. Her mother was always trying to get her to be nice to her elder brother. She just didn't realize how hard it was.

"I was thinking you should stay here," Hego said. "It's not like you're living in a very healthy environment anyway."

"Shut up, Hego." Mego told him in a vain attempt to not have to clean up the mess that would ensue.

"Her girlfriend bea…"

"Henry!" Karrie hissed slamming her paper down. "Be silent."

The four other members of the table jumped slightly and Hunter looked around to see the hostility that was mounting around that table. The gruff man cleared his throat and looked at Mego who ran his fingers through his hair.

"I think that's enough of breakfast," Hunter said getting up. "Don't you think so too Michael?"

"Oh yeah," Mego replied. "I'm totally stuffed. Thanks mom."

The two males gathered up their dished and each one took it upon themselves to grab one of Wego's plates. Hego huffed and got up. He cleared his dishes and left the two woman at the stable.

"If it makes you feel better," Shego said breaking the silence that had settled over the two. "He's the real reason I don't come home."

"I know," Karrie said. "Why don't you go and grab your gear."

Shego nodded and got up from the table. She felt bad as she left her mother and entered the kitchen with her dishes. The arguing took more out of her now than it used to. Hego was there when she looked up. Apparently Hunter was making him do this dishes.

"I'm right you know," He told her. "You should come home."

"No," Shego said, "They have enough problems with you guys around."

Hego put down his dish rag and turned his full attention to Shego. She didn't know whether she wanted to leave or punch his through the back door.

"I left because it was my time," Shego told him. "I refused to stay here and mooch off them when they'd already given me what they could."

"Is that what you think we do?"

"No," Shego said. "Not them, but you. You could make things easier on them and go do something other than try to shove you input in places it isn't needed."

"I'm needed here," Hego said. "when Mom leaves for weeks at a time and dad's at work. Who do you think has to be here with the boys?"

"Don't make it seem like you're strapped down to the house," Shego said. "They're more than old enough to look after themselves. You just want to make yourself seem more important."

"It's not our fault Mom's stressed out all the time and Dad mops around the house. It's all because you ran off." Hego said. "And lets not forget that you lie to them. They worry about you. Wondering whether they're going to get a phone call in the middle of the night because that insane girlfriend of yours finally went over the deep end."

"That's exactly what I mean," Shego said clenching her fists. "You're so interested in other peoples lives because you refuse to go out and get your own. Hiding behind mom and dad because they coddle you."

"They don't coddle me,"

"Yes Hego, they do." Shego told him. "I know they do, I've experienced it first hand."

"You're selfish," The older boy said. "I'm so glad that no one else in the family turned out like…"

The kitchen door swung open and Hego trailed off. Their mother stood in the doorway appearing very calm. But the siblings knew it was a ruse. Karrie entered the kitchen and scrapped off the rest of her breakfast into a compost bin she had near the back door.

"You were supposed to be doing something, Samantha," She said once she was done performing the action. "I don't remember it being in here arguing with your brother."

The young villainess took that as her opportunity and scrambled up the stairs as fast as she could. The raven haired woman was about to lose her temper and she didn't want to be anywhere near when it happened.


	16. Hide and Go Seek

Chapter Sixteen: Hide and Go Seek

Shego entered her room and grabbed her hiking gear. Her cell phone vibrated in her pocket and she pulled it out and flipped it open. There was a text message from Betty. It appeared that the blood samples they gathered from her on her previous visits had become aggressive and destroyed their containers.

Shego shrugged and closed her phone. She slipped it into the pocket of her backpack and put it on. Her mother would be downstairs soon. Hunter appeared in her doorway carrying his tools.

"Sorry about the mess," she said. "I'll help if there is anything left when I get back."

"Don't worry about it," he responded. "Just have fun with your mother and don't let her win."

"If I don't let her win she might be tempted to actually fight," Shego shuddered. "I'd rather not go through that again."

"Well I'll be here to nurse you back to heath," he said with a smile.

Shego trotted from her room and passed Hego on the way down. He was silent and didn't even acknowledge her presence. She squelched the feeling of pity she felt well up inside her. The stupid jerk got what he deserved.

"We're not going to wait all day, Shadow," Karrie said waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. Jacob sat patiently by the door.

She hurried down and they set off.

The hike to the ridge was usually one that happened in relative silence. It gave her mother the time she required to structure the argument that was sure to come. Shego and her mother were both quiet women but Shego knew that the silence they shared at the moment was not a healthy one.

Jacob ignored the two and ran ahead of them chasing after things neither of them could see.

"You may as well get it over with," Shego said once the ridge was insight.

"I will not give you the excuse you are seeking," Karrie replied. The older woman shook her head. "I'll wait until we reach the top."

"And give you hours to brood?"

"I've had months to brood," Karrie retorted.

Shego sighed.

It annoyed her how similar they were but what upset her the most was taking Hego's words into consideration. What if she had been responsible for all of her mother's stress? Would the woman who raised her give her an ultimatum? Shego's shoulders slumped. She had finally gotten used to the freedom's she'd gained by leaving. She knew beyond logic she would come back home if her mother sincerely asked her to.

Karrie stopped and turned to look at the younger woman. She crossed her hands over her chest, waiting for Shego to meet her eyes. The older woman groaned when Shego's glance wavered and then she looked away.

"You've become quite timid since you left," Karrie told her. "Just when I thought you'd grown out of being that shy little girl that had peered through the window of her kindergarten class. I am proven wrong."

Shego stood still when her mother approached. The tall woman opened her arms and pulled her into a gentle hug. Shego relaxed when she felt her mother stroke the top of her head.

"Samantha, I'm not going to tell you to come back," She said gently. "But where ever you go it would be nice to at least be certain that you are secure."

Shego nodded.

"You were clever to allow the physical evidence to heal before you came," Karrie placed her fingers under Shego's chin and made her look into her eyes. "But the psychological damage is not so easy to hide from the woman who birthed you."

"Do you understand?" Karrie asked once Shego stayed quiet. "A woman who harms you is not a woman who loves you."

"I understand," the younger woman replied.

"Now that that's settled let's make it to the top before noon yeah?" Karrie said releasing her. "I'd rather not leave it to your father to make dinner."

Kim pulled out her compass and raised her left hand to wipe sweat from her brow. It was much warmer that it had been and she was a little sorry that she had worn her mission clothes. The redhead shrugged and set her pack down. She shed her shirt and packed it away. She was in the middle of nowhere. The probability of running into someone who wasn't in her position was very unlikely.

She had located Shego's parents house hours ago. There was no mistaking it for someone else's. Beside the mailbox displaying Shego's sir name, it was one Kim would have expected to be able to accommodate a family like theirs.

Kim stayed relatively close until she had discovered a path leading away from the house. This is why she found herself standing where she was at the moment. She was half way to the top of the ridge Shego must have been talking about.

The hike the raven haired girl had described became more of a climb a few hundred yards away from the Orrick's property. She was a little tired but she'd been craving a challenge. Her missions had taken a short hiatus. Why? She was not yet sure but she was positive that she would be one of the first outside of the villain community to find out.

She pulled the mouth piece the attachment from her backpack and took a drink of water. It was warmer than she would have preferred but she didn't have any room to complain. She had been out of water when she reached the Orrick's. Thankfully no one noticed her when she boldly snuck over to their water spigot and replenished her supply.

After a few more minutes she put her backpack back on and continued her climb. She mentally kicked herself in the rear for not immediately accepting Shego's invitation. If this had been a race, there would have been nothing that would have quelled her fierce need to beat both women.

If she kept going at the rate she was she wouldn't make it to the top until after two. It was only twelve thirty. Kim huffed and began moving faster. She had a catholic school girl to find and she wasn't going to miss out on the opportunity.

There weren't very many interesting things to look at as she climbed. The trees became denser the closer she moved to the peek. Their roots eased her climb as her muscles screamed for a rest. She wasn't interested in giving her body what it craved.

Time passed quickly and before she knew it. She'd reached the point where the terrain began to flatten out. She was glad for it. She hadn't been able to accurately judge her surroundings from her previous stopping points.

She pulled herself to her feet and hiked her backpack up further onto her shoulders. Her legs were happy to be free from having to find steady bracing. She ran for a while, until the normalcy returned to her limbs.

Shego stretched and prepared for whatever her mother would throw at her. The older woman had gone off to use the restroom and when she had Shego ran for it. Her mother would have to find her first. She could practically see the expression on the woman's face when she returned. Their showdown would begin once she was caught.

Ruffling in the tree's and bushes behind her caught her attention. The raven haired girl jumped into her fighting stance and readied herself for whatever it was that was coming her way. She'd never encountered much in the time she'd lived at home, but whenever she did it never ended well.

"Ah crap," The creature mumbled as it pulled itself from a mangled mess of huckleberry. The red mane looked oddly familiar to Shego. Bear's didn't wear mission clothing.

Kim dusted herself off and turned to take a good look at her surroundings. Shego was behind her. The girl had pulled out of her fighting stance and now stood with her arms crossed over her torso.

"You've got to be shitting me," Shego said.

Kim turned and grinned at her mischievously. Her foe shook her head in defeat and a smile of her own flashed quickly over her face.

"I found my catholic school girl," Kim said. The redhead slid her hands in her pockets and ambled closer to Shego.

"You want a fucking cookie or something?" Shego asked. "I told you not to make any girls I knew your objective."

"And I didn't," Kim answered. "I made you the subject. So technically I followed your rules."

Shego scoffed and took a step backward when Kim moved into her personal space. The little redhead could be unnerving sometimes. She didn't have much experience with Kim moving around when they were in each others private company.

"No need to be nervous," Kim said. "I just came to collect my prize."

"And that would be?" Shego asked eyeing her suspiciously.

Kim shrugged. She didn't know what Shego was suppose to give her but what she was hoping it would be almost made her blush.

"That's for you to decide." Kim answered. "You are the schoolgirl whose suppose to give me an idea."

"You're terrible," Shego said. "If you wanted that type of idea you should have found someone better suited."

"Better than you," Kim asked. "What does that even mean?"

"Someone who can participate in your research," Shego said with a blush. "That school girl is not me."

Kim nodded but that only made her want her prize more. Only Shego made her feel this way. She'd never been so bold before. They were in the middle of no where and as far as she was concerned she could never see herself being with or faithful to someone like the girlfriend Shego had.

The redhead pouted.

"If you were in my position what would you do?" Kim asked.

"I would be selfish," Shego said. "I'm not one to let my desires go unfulfilled. I can't have given you something you stole."

Kim raised her eyebrow at the older girl. Shego had just given her permission to kiss her. She had a feeling the offer would expire the minute Shego thought on her choice some more. Before the other girl could protest Kim closed the distance between them and instead of kissing her like she wanted to, she hugged the taller girl.

Shego stood mildly surprised. Kim's embrace was innocent and comforting. She relaxed in Kim's arms and returned the hug. Her mind went blank and all her worries seemed to slip away just for that moment. Kim pulled away after a while and smiled. Shego's bangs had fallen into her face and Kim brushed them away. Shego's eyes were the clearest they're been in a long time.

Kim sensed what Shego was thinking and before she could stop the older girl. She felt soft lips upon her own. There was a hint of hesitance in it from Shego. She wasn't sure if Kim would be accepting of her advances. All of her doubts disappeared when Kim returned her show of affection. The sensual kiss the two shared made Kim's journey worth it.

The embrace returned as the two locked lips. The kiss slowly evolved into something heavier than they had intend it to, but neither of them had any intentions of pulling away to protest. Shego completely forgot about her mother looking for her until Jacob's barking alerted the two and Shego pulled away.

The expression of her face was full of mixed emotions.

"We'll take about this later," Shego said. "I've got bigger things to worry about."

Kim nodded and took off in the opposite direction of Jacob's barking. That was one good dog. Kim could definitely come to appreciate the handiness of a canine.

Shego and Karrie limped down the ridge side back to the house. That had to have been their most intense fight yet. Even if Shego ended up with her face in the dirt more times than she could count. There wasn't a spot on her body that wasn't battered or bleeding.

It hurt to breathe. She never understood why her mother used her as a punching bag when she had Hego. Shego groaned. Her mother would insist on taking care of her when they got back. She wasn't looking forward to it.

"So who was the girl?" Karrie asked finally.

"None of your business," Shego snapped. The two were on different ends of the spectrum in her life and she wanted to keep it that way.

"Touchy," Karrie said with a low laugh. "She must be important."

Shego stayed silent. She didn't have to put up with her mother's nosiness. It was bad enough that she knew about Neelam. She was still trying to figure out how she knew about her, but she wouldn't put it past her mother to threaten Wally.

Shego's thoughts were interrupted by agonizing screams from the house.

"Please tell me that isn't Hego,"

"I wouldn't want to lie to you, Shadow." Karrie sighed.

"He's so pathetic,"

Kim leaned back against a large Douglas fir. He ride would be here soon. She'd radio'd him a while after she'd left Shego. He'd been busy when she called but said he'd be there soon.

Her book laid in her lap unopened as she thought about her meeting with Shego. She'd kissed her rival. Kim's lips curled into a grin. She couldn't describe what it felt like to have the older girl in her arms, their lips locked together in intimate exchange.

Kim sighed and closed her eye's. She deserved a nap.

Dinner.

Another thing Shego hated about coming home. Dinner was always a disaster. Her father had taken it upon himself to take some of the strain off of her mother and prepare their evening meal.

Everyone sat at the table and looked at what he'd made. Karrie was brave as she filled her plate with food. The others weren't so confident with Hunter's culinary skills. Even he hesitated.

The siblings watched their mother eat. Her bandaged face one of indifference. Shego's stomach growled and she was next to try her fate. She scooped what she hoped was mashed potato's onto her plate. Along with green beans and some type of fish.

"Timothy?" Karrie said once she'd finished sampling everything on her plate.

"Yes Karoline?" Hunter responded.

Hearing their father's first name wasn't something that occurred regularly in their house. In fact the use of anyone's actual first name was rare.

"This meal was prepared wonderfully," She complimented.

Everyone let out a sigh of relief and soon plates were full. Dinner was quiet compared to how breakfast had gone. Hego seemed as if he wasn't allowed to speak. He hadn't said a word to anyone all day.

"Mom stole his soul," Walter mumbled to Shego.

Shego chuckled lightly.

"If we're lucky," She whispered back.

"When are you leaving?" Hego asked suddenly.

""When you pull your head out of your ass," Shego replied.

"For everyone's sake please don't start," Mego said.

The two elder siblings huffed and went back to their meals. It was the smoothest dinner they'd had together in years.

It was Shego's turn to wash the dishes. She finished them quickly and ambled up the stairs to her room. Her father had done a wonderful job repairing the bathroom. Although he didn't have to get to the carpeting.

Shego looked at the gloves that covered her hands and sighed.

Three more days and she'd be free.


	17. Here I Stand

Chapter Fifteen: Here I Stand.

Kim woke up the next morning refreshed. Her previous day's adventure had been rewarding and the interaction with Shego made her smile. The redhead stared up at her ceiling. She listened for any sounds around the house. There were none.

She turned over and looked at her clock. It was five and extremely bright outside. She lay in bed for a few more minutes of laziness. She became fully alert twenty minutes later and jumped out of bed. The thought of school made her morning just a little hazy. She just wasn't feeling going like she usually did.

She stretched and went into the bathroom to perform her morning hygiene routine. She came out after a few minutes and opened her closet door. There weren't very many items to choose from. She would definitely have to do laundry when she came in.

She threw on a plain pair of black jeans, a white undershirt and a light grey pullover sweater. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail before checking herself over in the mirror. She fixed her clothes and when she deemed herself presentable pulled on her socks and gathered the things she would need for school. Today was going to be a good day.

Shego sighed as she turned over in her bed. Jacob lay over her feet keeping them a little warmer than she could handle.

"Jacob," Shego muttered. "Come here boy."

Shego patted the spot on the bed next to her and Jacob did as he was told. He lay next to her with a decent amount of space between them. She reached out and petted his fur. He was soft and cuddly and thanks to a recent bath he smelled fresh. Well, as fresh as a dog could.

She looked over at the clock. It was well past the time she would have usually been awake. She moved her legs into a different position and hissed. She was stiff and her joints were sore. Her mother had given her quite the workout. A knock on her door brought her away from her aching.

"If your nickname ends with 'go' go away," Shego said.

"You're too hard on your bothers," Karrie said entering the room. She walked over to her daughters windows and pulled wide the curtains. Sunlight burst through and Shego was tempted the cover her face with her blankets. She knew that wouldn't do her any good.

"Your point?" Shego asked. "Someone needs to do it. You guys baby them."

"We treat them the same way we treat you," Karrie lied smoothly. "Girls are no more important in this family then the young me we Orrick's produce."

"That is so practiced," Shego said. "Let me guess it's something you heard Grandmother say a lot while you were growing up."

Karoline smiled wickedly. She sat down on the window ledge and stared out. Shego was right. It was a line she'd heard her mother use countless times while she was growing up. The women of the Orrick family treasured their little girls above all else, whether it was a good thing or not.

"Have you ever questioned your status in this family?" Karoline asked.

"I'm old enough to hold status?" Shego asked.

Her mother nodded in response.

"Then no," Shego answered. "I've never engaged in any of those roughhousing competitions held by our elders every year, it never seemed worth it."

"Why not," Karrie asked. "If nothing else it's a good time to get in some worthwhile challenges."

"Mom, have you seen who I'm up against?" Shego said. The young girl was referring to her cousins. There were only two categories in her opinion. The ones she would slaughter and the ones who were too young to waste her time on.

"What if I could change that," Karrie asked. "Would you consider taking part this year?"

Shego sat up in bed and looked over her mother carefully. The fact that she was considering Shego's feelings rang a bell in the back of her mind.

"You've already arranged it haven't you?" Shego asked. Karrie turned her attention to whatever was going on outside of Shego's window that the young girl couldn't see.

"Of course," Karrie said. "There would have been no use of getting your hopes up if I wasn't absolutely sure it would happen."

Shego sighed and rubbed her face with her gloved hands. Why was her family so difficult? Was it too much to ask to have been born into a normal family, one that wasn't a monarchy based on who was the most savage warrior?

Her mother did have a point though. It would be well worth it to go. She could see how well she'd hold up against someone with many years of experience under their belts. She'd most likely be pummeled ten seconds in but what the hell; she faced that challenge every time she came home to visit her family.

"I'll do it," She said.

"You brave soul," Karrie grinned and it made Shego uneasy. "There's something I forgot to mention…"

"You didn't forget," Shego said. "You just wanted to wait until I gave my word so I wouldn't be able to back out of it."

"Well yes," Karrie said. "But you should have been expecting that."

"So what is it?" Shego asked.

"You have to fight your way up from the bottom," Karrie said. "They want to be absolutely certain this is the right decision."

"They won't be absolutely certain until my head is being bashed into the ground by an elder."

"Sometimes you're too smart for your own good," Karrie said. "The date has been set. Three full moons from now we'll meet at the manor."

"Perfect," Shego said. The manor was what they referred to their grandmother's house as. It was a place of mayhem during their family reunions, which is what they called their ranking competitions. Every year it seemed the standings changed.

"Don't seemed so overjoyed Shadow, I promise it will be fun." Karrie said.

Betty paced back and forth in her office. She was wondering how a girl four years her junior could cause her life so much trouble. Her supervisor's were breathing down Betty's neck for her to find Shego.

She knew what they wanted her for. They wanted to trap the young woman. Turn her into a lab experiment, find out what made her tick, but Betty refused to sell the other girl out. They were too close and Betty couldn't condone what the military wanted her to do.

She pulled out her cell phone and dialed the younger woman's number. The younger woman didn't answer the phone. Betty cursed. As much as she wanted to go out there and warn her friend in person she knew that there were people watching her. She was afraid that someone she was close to was giving her superiors information. They were too familiar with the idea that she and Shego were in close communication with each other.

She needed to get a message out. The cogs in her mind turned quickly and another person came to mind. She would call the last person that Global Justice's higher ups would never suspect.

She pulled her phone out again and dialed a familiar number.

"Wade," The young man answered the line. "Good to hear from you again Doctor Director."

"I would like to set up a meeting with Ms. Possible," She answered. "Sometime very soon."

"If it's urgent I could probably get her to you in a few hours. She's currently in school."

"That'll do" Betty said. "Tell her to come in through the back."

They ended the call and Betty sighed. She could see her life turning down a very difficult path sometime soon."

Kim sat through her English class and was actually paying attention. She'd finally gotten her grades up and her teachers had stopped hounding her. For that she was glad, it gave her more time to think about what she would do in her spare time.

The bell rang and she packed up her things her Kimmunicator buzzed and she pulled it from her pocket. She read the message that had been sent to her and looked around. No one was paying attention to her. She slipped out of sight and quickly made her way to the parking lot.

Coming in through the back door was a code for meeting Doctor Director at a café in the more upscale parts of Go city. Few people would pay attention to them there. The citizens of Go city were too consumed in their own lives to worry themselves over a cop talking to some kid.

It took Kim a few hours to get there and when she did she sat in their regular booth. It didn't take long before Doctor Director showed up. She went up to the counter and order food before joining Kim.

The girl could tell that there was something heavily weighing on the older woman's mind. She watched as Director looked around almost casually. If the other girl didn't know any better she would assume that Betty may have thought she had been followed.

"I need you to find Shego," Doctor Director stated. Her voice low. "Tell her to stay low and do whatever she needs to do not to get caught."

Kim nodded.

"I'm serious," Doctor Director said. "This isn't the time to turn into some brain dead teenager on me."

"You have better resources than I do," Kim said. "You could locate her with the snap of your fingers."

"I don't want to find her," Director said. "I want her to go so far underground that there will be no trace of her. I don't care what she does for all I care she can go back to the Amazon."

Kim nodded and turned the conversation to friendlier things as the waitress came over. She began rambling to Betty about her improving grades and cheerleading and like a good actress Betty pretended to care. Which in fact she slightly did. She didn't know much about the young hero and hearing her talk about normal things was a refreshing change. She just hopped that Kim would be about told Kim Shego in time.

Every moment they spent keeping people off of their trail the closer Global Justice got to their goal.

Shego looked everywhere she could to try and locate her cell phone. She growled as she looked underneath her bed. There lay the offending object. It had been chewed on to death.

"Jacob," Shego said sweetly, holding up the phone when Jacob turned his attention to her. The dog lowered his head and growled as he moved backward a few feet. She couldn't fool him. He knew that tone of voice. His mistress was going to find the closest thing to a newspaper and pop him on the nose with it.

Sure he'd known that it may not have been such a great idea to gnaw on the object but it kept vibrating across the nightstand while he was trying to nap. Not only that but it had the audacity to shock him once he'd gotten underneath the plastic covering. There had been no question on the phones evil intentions after that.

"Get over here," She commanded.

Jacob bolted for the door before Shego could repeat the command. He could out run her, Jacob judged. He had four legs and she only had two. In his expert opinion that had to amount to something.

"I'm going to kill you, you naughty flea bag," Shego cursed charging after him. He was going to get it when she got her hands on him.

"Samantha," Hunter called from down the stairs. "Don't threaten the dog."

"But Dad he destroyed my phone," She whined. It wasn't fair. They always took Jacob's side.

"He's a dog," He father repeated. "Buy another one."

"Lucky mongrel," Shego huffed and took the back out of her phone. She hoped that the chip in the back hadn't been damaged. At least all her data could be restored. "I'm leaving him here to teach him a lesson."

"That's fine," He said coming down. He was dressed for work. Shego gave him a hug when he got to the bottom of the staircase. She wouldn't be home when he returned. "Stay out of trouble alright?"

"I'm an Orrick, there is no such thing as staying out of trouble." Shego retorted. She knew her old man knew better than to expect her to be good while she was away. In their family there was no such thing.

"I'm well aware," He replied. "But a man can hope."

Shego bid her father farewell and went back up the stairs. She'd finished packing her things and went to take them down to the car. She avoided Hego and had already said goodbye to her other brothers the night before. He mother wasn't in the house and she typically wasn't when Shego decided to leave. She figured it was always hard on the other woman to see her go.

She did as she promised and left her naughty animal with her parent's. Something in the back of her mind told her it was the right thing to do. Her instincts were never wrong.

Kim found her way back to the Orrick property made her way up to the front door. She'd hiked in again from the same point. She wanted to make sure she was alone.

She rang the door bell and barking ensued from the other side. The door unlocked and Hego appeared. He didn't look as if he was in the best of moods.

"Kim Possible," He greeted her. "It's very good to see you again old friend."

"Same here," She said smiling at the elder brother of her arch foe. "I'm sorry to drop by unannounced but I was hoping Shego was still here."

"No actually," He replied "She left a few hours ago. She'd be back in Go City by now."

"Was that Jake I heard?" Kim asked. She thought it rather odd that the loyal animal would still be in the house when Shego had obviously left.

"He chewed on her cell phone," Hego replied "So to teach him a lesson she left him here. Knowing Shego she'll be back in the middle of the night to snatch him up."

"Thanks," The hero said before bouncing off. She pulled out her Kimmunicator and gave Director a call.

Shego entered her rooms silently. She wasn't sure if Neelam would still be around and she wasn't in the mood to get into a confrontation with the older woman. She silently cursed when she heard movement in the kitchen. It was undoubtedly in deplorable condition.

So, it seemed Neelam hadn't left. Shego stayed quiet as she moved into the hallway that led to the bedroom. She looked around; their home was a complete mess. She knew Joy wouldn't come around when she wasn't around.

"Why did you come back?" Neelam asked from behind her. Shego never understood how the woman always knew she was around. Then again the other woman was sharper than Shego gave her credit for.

Shego turned around and locked eyes with Neelam. There was something hidden in them she seemed hell bent on trying to stifle, but Shego knew better. There was nothing Neelam could hide from her. She knew the other woman's emotions like the back of her hand.

"Neelam," Shego tried to say but it came out a mere whisper. The look on her girlfriends face made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She wanted to reach out, comfort her in some way, but she refrained. The last time the two had been in physical contact Shego had nearly melted the flesh off of other woman's wrist. Shego looked down at the bandaged appendage.

Neelam raised it so Shego could get a closer look. The younger woman shrugged. She hadn't done anything the other woman hadn't deserved. She shook her head to rid herself of such thoughts. If she began that line of thinking she would be no better than the woman standing before her.

"Why do you always come back?" Neelam asked. "Is your need for self preservation so off key that you can't tell what's good for you?"

"I come back because this is my home," Shego responded.

"You return because you are an imbecile," Neelam said. Her voice breaking. She tore her gaze from Shego's and looked down at the floor. Her body shook and Shego followed her tears as they ran down her face and slashed against the hardwood of their apartment's floor.

Shego gulped and moved backwards into the darkness of the bedroom. Something was definitely not right about this situation. Neelam wasn't being her usual bad-tempered self.

Something crashed through the window behind them and people began filling the bedroom. Shego moved to dodge one of the masked agents. She moved into her fighting stance immediately. Neelam beside her.

"Let's not make this harder than it has to be Orrick," One of the agents said. She knew that voice but she couldn't put her finger on it.

Both women scoffed.

The fight was one before anyone knew exactly what was happening. Shego blocked attacks from what she felt was every direction. It was too dark. She couldn't tell how many assailants there were.

"Neelam," Shego grunted grabbing the extended foot of one of her attackers and delivering her own successful side kick into his crouch. She wouldn't have to worry about him anytime soon. "Lights."

"On it," The other woman said. She stooped low and took her opponent off his feet before coming down on him. Her foot effectively crushing the side of his face. The Light switch was only a few feet away.

She backed up blocking anything that came her way and hit the switch. Nothing happened.

"They cut the power," Neelam informed her.

Shego cursed and kept fighting. The two eventually backed out of the bedroom and it seemed the there had been more people to come in through the front door. Shego grunted. Two prongs attached to her skin and she clinched her teeth together in agony as electricity shot through her body.

"Fuck," The younger woman screamed. That move had angered her. Neelam was by her side again. She nodded to the other woman and punched out the nearest guy. Neelam was quick as she yanked out the offending pieces of metal.

Blood spilled onto the carpet but was ignored. They both had more pressing matters to attend to. The other agents had gotten the same smart idea and began attempting to use their tazers.

Neelam hopped over the couch and ducked. The two prongs fired her way whizzed passed her. She sighed in short lived relief. Most of the men they were dealing with were caught in the small tunnel that was their hallway. She braced herself against the coffee table and with all of her strength forced the couch into the agents. They grunted as they were smashed into the wall.

Neelam got up and grabbed Shego, running out into the hall.

"Get out of here," She told the younger woman. "I'll hold them off."

Shego hesitated. Neelam was well versed in martial arts and could take care of herself. She was torn between wanting to stay and help Neelam or high tailing it out of there as quickly as her legs would carry her.

"Run!" The Middle Eastern woman yelled. She looked up into the woman's dark brown eyes and her girlfriend refused to meet her gaze. Shego turned and ran to the end of the hall. She burst through the stairwell doors and before she could blink, agents wrestled her to the floor.

The raven haired girl attempted to call out to Neelam, who was fighting her own war in the hallway but was cut off as they gagged her. She struggled against the agents on top of her. One of the men put his knee into her back and shoved her down forcing her face into the carpet. She growled and the same anger she'd felt toward Neelam when she left arose.

She could hear the sound of a chopper approaching. The agents lifted her up hurriedly moved her from the stairwell. Shego fought against them, doing almost everything she could to make transporting her difficult.

The cuffs against her skin began to super heat and the guards holding her arms released her. Unfortunately for them they weren't wearing gloves. Shego's clothing began to smoke and she fought to sever the cuffs.

"She's going to break free," She heard one of them say but she ignored them. Her clothing burst into flames.

Shego growled her skin began to glove bright green and just as she ripped the cuffs apart as if they were children play toys something cold and hard pressed against her neck. The agent pulled the trigger and Shego's body fell limp.

"Should have tranq'ed her from the beginning." The agent said.


	18. Nocturnal

Hey all;

It sure has been a while eh'. Hopefully I'll be updating more often as I have a bit more free time. I got struck with writers block for this story and well with the help of some readers was able to force myself out of it long enough to produce what I can only hope is a quality chapter.

Enjoy.

Chapter Eighteen: Nocturnal

Kim sat on a park bench. Her legs tucked underneath her as she waited. Doctor Director hadn't taken the news of her not being able to locate Shego well. When she'd contacted the Global Justice official she looked as if she hadn't slept, or showered in that matter, for days.

When the brunette showed up, she was in street clothes and Kim almost mistook her for someone else. The redhead took a closer look. Directors clothes were wrinkled. She didn't look well. Her skin was pale and the rings around her eyes had darkened. Kim frowned. Betty also looked smaller, probably spending so much time worrying about Shego, she hadn't eaten much.

Kim didn't know all of the details but it seemed the situation surrounding their mutual "friend" was becoming dire. Kim shifted. It would be nice to at least get a good idea of what kind of mission this was going to turn out to be.

Betty Director sat down on the other end of the bench and it was a long time before the older woman said anything. She seemed to be having an inner battle with herself. Her eye brows furrowed together, deep lines manifesting on her face.

The motions of another person caught her eye. A woman who'd looked like she'd seen better days ambled up the them. She was limping and one of her arms hung in a sling. One side of her face was swollen in different areas. Kim felt a tinge of sympathy for her.

The woman stopped before Kim. She was taller than Kim had first judged, her olive skin bruised. She turned to Kim and gave her a once over before looking pointedly in Doctor Director's direction.

"The pet," Director stated. Neelam looked confused while Kim masked her face of understanding. So this was Shego's girlfriend. Kim wanted to laugh, this woman was no match for Shego. One glimpse at her was enough to know that much.

"They have her don't they?" Director asked. She wouldn't have called her here if it weren't the case. The two women couldn't stand being in each others presence if it weren't necessary. Betty always had this urge to break the other woman in half. She held back the urge. Shego wouldn't appreciate the gesture.

"I didn't do this to myself," Neelam spoke, her words were slurred slightly and it vaguely masked her accent.

"Karma mayhap?" Betty asked questioningly.

Neelam sent Betty a sharp glare and had Kim not been born with a fearless nature the look may have sent a shiver down her spine. Kim silently wondered how often Shego had been on the receiving end of that same look. Her eyes drifted to Neelam's unslung right hand. It was heavily bruised but Kim could see old scars underneath them. She wondered how many of them had been attributed to Shego's pet problems. Her gaze traveled up the woman's bare forearms and stopped on the angry burned skin that surely would scar when healed.

Kim clenched her fists. This was the woman who'd diminished Shego to the barely conscious teen she'd catered to only weeks ago. Kim could feel Shego's weight upon her as she remembered carrying the girl up the stairs and into her bedroom. Unexpressed anger flickered to life.

Betty saw Kim stiffen and watched as Kim stared off deep in thought. She had a good idea what the younger girl was thinking about and reached over, placing her hand on Kim's shoulder. The action brought the teen hero back from the recesses of her mind.

"I know," Betty said meeting her eyes. "but now is not the time for such thoughts."

Kim remained quiet but felt herself calm. In some ways she couldn't quite tell why she was here. It seemed like this should have been a private conversation. Something she would have been briefed on.

Neelam scoffed and turned her attention back to Kim. The young hero met her gaze and her eyebrow quirked up questioningly. How dare this foolish woman make such a bold move as eye contact. Kim held in a huff. She would have to control her temper, bringing any more stress onto Betty's shoulders was more than she could bare.

"I wasn't aware that government kidnappings were in your jurisdiction," Neelam said. She brought her hand up to inspect her fingers as if out of boredom. Kim had the urge to slap her hand away. That hand that had probably marred Shego's soft skin… Kim shook her head now wasn't the time to think of Shego that way.

"Anything Shego related is my jurisdiction," Kim informed her as if it wasn't a well known fact. "Any trouble she may find herself in, any problems she may have, after a while they all become my jurisdiction."

"We'll have to see about that," Neelam sneered as if repulsed by Kim's answer.

"Neelam, knock it off." Doctor Director warned.

"What are you going to do?" Neelam asked Director. "Out of all the people who are suppose to be looking out for her, your agency picks her off and now, not even you can locate her."

"That's funny coming from you," Kim said, coming to Betty's defense. "If she had been where she belonged no one in this universe would have been able to lay a finger on her."

"And where Ms. Possible, would that have been?" Neelam asked, her voice dripping with venom.

"It doesn't matter," Betty said standing up. She knew that if she didn't separate the two soon there would be nothing that would stop Kim from ripping Neelam apart. Betty held in a smile, it warmed her heart to know that Kim felt so deeply about Shego. "Kim and I will handle it from here. You, I don't know, go play on a freeway, jump off a bridge, whatever will kill you faster."

Kim stood when Betty motioned for her to follow. She gave one last lingering look toward Neelam and knew that wouldn't be the last time they crossed paths.

"For a while I was beginning to doubt that beautiful red hair of yours was real," Betty teased. "But alas that trademark temper finally reared it's ugly head."

"Oh yeah," Kim laughed. "I'm sure I really don't like her."

"You aren't the only one," Betty said. "But we have bigger things to worry about. First things first. We have to get Shego back before her mother discovers she's missing. The last thing we need is the merging of her two neatly separated worlds."

"We have enough problems to worry about," Kim agreed.

"The difficult thing about Global Justice is we're typically the good guys, so anyone doing any snooping around is easily spotted. In the underground there is always someone who knows more than they are suppose to. We get most of our leads from these people. We need to locate someone like that but on our side."

Kim nodded. It would look suspicious if Betty were to go around asking questions to anyone she thought might have information. The two women both shared many of the same connections but she knew that she would have to go an alternate route. The last thing they needed was for someone to catch wind of them looking for Shego and move the younger woman again.

"I'll find her," Kim said, her voice full of conviction. "come hell or high water,"

"And how exactly do you plan to do that?" Betty asked.

"You've got your connections, and I've got mine." Kim answered.

Shego groaned. In her opinion she was waking up in this condition far to often lately for her liking. She felt almost the same way she'd felt after Kim kicked her into that electrical tower. She attempted to open her eyes but failed. She apparently wasn't conscious enough for something that technical yet.

She settled for listening. The was a monitoring beep from somewhere in the room. It wasn't from something she had expected to hear, like a heart monitor, but a camera. She felt the hair on the back of her neck rise. Taking a mental assessment of her body she could tell her arms were free and her legs didn't seem to be weighed down by any restraints.

She didn't know whether or not this was a good sign. One thing unsettled her. She didn't like being watched and even though the eyes weren't directly on her, she could feel them. She decided she wouldn't be a source of entertainment for them and laid still.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed. Her eyes still weren't on her team, and nothing else in her body seemed to want to respond. Whatever they had given to drug her, had been very effective. So effective, Shego thought, that it may have been specifically created for her.

She quieted her thoughts. There was talking from outside the room she was in. She relaxed and slowed her breathing. Whoever this was, she didn't want them to receive any indication that she had regained consciousness.

A door opened and closed. Then a second pair of doors leading into her room opened. There was no movement at first. They were probably giving her a once over. Soon she heard them move closer. They pulled something off the end of the bed. It was most likely her chart. She listened as they flipped through the pages. She was tempted to slightly open her eyes and get a good look around, but that temptation would have to wait. Her body still wouldn't respond.

"How long are the effects suppose to last?" She heard the person mutter. It was a male voice, low, and held a hint of confusion. "Hmm…"

She listened as he put the chart away. He came close to her. His proximity made her mentally uneasy. She felt him move around and then press something against her chest. She cursed, unless he attributed her quickened heartbeat to the drug. He would know she was awake.

"Clever girl," The man said with a hint of mirth. "If you continue to breathe like that you'll only cause yourself undue stress."

Shego wanted to scoff, but inwardly she resorted to rolling her eyes. This guy was trying very hard to pretend as if he cared about her well being.

"I'll tell you what, you make this go as smoothly as possible and at some point we'll discuss you seeing a little sunshine. Would you like that?"

She could hear the grin in his voice. He was enjoying this. Her, laying there with no discernable options. If she could summon enough energy to be angry, she would have, but instead her body betrayed her and kept it's nonchalant stance on the situation.

"What is it like?" He asked. "To be locked inside your own head, with no end to this control in sight." The man chuckled and readjusted the stethoscope.

"You're heart will always give you away," He continued. "It's the one thing that will cause you to not only make the worst decisions, but cause you the most pain."

Shego wanted to growl, tell the man to shut up, slap him, anything that would make him stop talking and go away but she couldn't and worst of all he didn't. The man continued to talk and eventually Shego fell asleep to the sound of his voice.

When she came to again she had control of her body. She didn't have to move in order to know that, but to confirm, she opened her eyes. The room was pitch black and for a moment she almost panicked but upon further inspection she knew her eyes were functioning properly. The only source of light in the room came from the far west corner. A red dot signifying the camera was active. It must have been infrared.

Shego sat up slowly, continuing her earlier assessment. She rolled her neck and moved her shoulders. Her arms responded without hesitation and nothing she moved gave any indication that it was damaged in someway.

She stood. Her uncovered feet settling down onto cold linoleum tiled flooring. She was grateful they were dumb enough not to put carpet in. She would be able to hear anything that moved along the floor. She inhaled deeply taking in the scent of the room. For the most part the air was fresh, there was most likely an air conditioning unit somewhere. She could tell they had done their research. Shego couldn't complain about the near freezing temperature of the room.

Something caught her attention as she inhaled. Heat. A machine possibly? Shego shook her head. This was no mechanism. It was body heat. She stayed still and listened hard. There, just barely audible, was soft breath. She detected more heat sources. Two, no three more than her initial assumption.

Something told her she wouldn't be able to fight her way out of this one. She would have to wait and bide her time. She sat back down onto the bed. They had provided the board and were appeared to be finalizing the rules. She would play their game for now.

She could do nothing for now but gather information about where she was. No point in trying the escape something if you have no idea how tightly locked down the place was.

Shego sat back down on the bed and allowed her legs to swing back and forth. Someone would come soon, she knew. She would wait for them. The brunette had no way of telling time where she was, and she highly doubted the guards inside the room were willing to share such privy information. She began systematically keeping track of time until she could figure out if guard switches were rotated at random, which in her opinion would have been the smart thing to do.

She wondered how the guards would get out of the room without making themselves known. They like the camera were obviously wearing heat seeking goggles.

Her question was soon answered. She began to feel light headed. If they were going to gas her every time they wanted to turn the lights on it would make it difficult to keep track of time the way she had planned.

Shego laid down on her side, curled into the fetal position with her back toward the wall. This, she knew, was only the beginning of her ordeal.

The man watched the screen as Shego laid down and waited for sleep to claim her. He didn't like this response. It was unlike Shego to willingly accept captivity. He'd break her of that, that, he was sure of.

He watched the guard check to make sure Shego was asleep. He growled, he'd told them not to touch her. It didn't matter he told himself. If things proceeded with Shego the way he planned, they would all be dead in a matter of days anyway.

"This is your new subject," He said. The lights on the screen blared to life and Shego's form became more than a hot presence on a screen.

"I won't help you," The woman behind him said. "You don't know what she's capable of and I personally don't want to find out."

The man inhaled deeply, letting it out slowly, he rose from his chair and slowly stalked toward the woman. There was only so much disobedience he could stand. There was a reason they brought in someone like him. He had a knack for breaking down difficult people, and when it came down to it, the woman in front of him would be no problem at all.

He stopped until he stood mere inches away from her. She would obey him, like the ones before her, and the many that would come after.

Shego awoke again. This time she was certain she had been asleep no more than a few minutes. This being knocked out thing was quickly becoming overrated. She remained calm and hopefully treat this as she had all other Global Justice arrests, like a small vacation.

The doors opened and Shego cracked open an eyelid. She was guessing this was the same man that had talked shit while she was impaired. She produced a lazy smile and her guest stopped and looked her over.

He noted her lazy body language and relaxed. He'd studied everything that global justice had on the young female. He would know when her patience had run short. He gave a smile of his own. He couldn't wait for that moment.

"Samantha Orrick," He said. "I've been waiting a long time to meet you again."

Kim walked into the night club that served as a base for one go to guy. Wade had his way of getting information but Kim knew this would take a face to face visit. She was no detective but she'd dealt with the likes of these types before.

She scooped the low lit club, looking for the largest, most fierce looking thugs she could find. She found them right were the usually were, standing in front of a booth with the curtains drawn shut. She avoided that section for a while.

She wanted to get an accurate feel of the place she was in. She went over to the bar and took a seat. She had a clear view of the ending destination. The bar tender appeared and looked at her oddly when she ordered cranberry juice.

She waited patiently by the bar for an hour before a large man approached her. She gave him a smile and he took a seat next to her. She ordered another cranberry and when it came he paid for it.

"So Big Daddy," Kim said. "I'm in a bit of a sitch."


	19. Betty's Boys

_Chapter Nineteen: Betty's Boys From the Back Room._

Kim twirled the glass around in her hand, watching as the ice spiraled around the surface of the liquid inside. The man known as Big Daddy Brotherson sat next to her, patiently waiting for her to tell him why she was here. He smiled. There were not many things that made the two cross paths. After their last run in, he had pretty much clean up all of his loose ends and tightened his network down to only those he trusted.

"You're a very resourceful man," Kim said, pursing her lips for a moment. "Resources I'm hoping you will share."

"I'm listening," Big Daddy prodded. He raised his hand and signaled the bartender for another round of drinks.

"People I have relations with are up to something they don't want anyone to know about," She said. "Try as they might, they can't hide some things from everyone."

Big Daddy finished his drink. He had a good idea what Kim was asking him about. The information she was asking for would come at a hefty price for the young hero. Much heftier than he thought she could handle. Big Daddy did not work on favors.

"I can't help you," He said plainly. "I haven't been involved in those types of activities for a while now."

Kim laughed and moved on to her next glass of cranberry juice. The cool liquid invaded her mouth and she momentarily lost herself in its flavor. The drink was much like Big Daddy, underneath its tart exterior was an exotic flare that left your mouth dry once swallowed.

"Not being involved and knowing more than you should is what you're known for around my parts." Kim explained. "If my past business ventures are any indication. You can always help me."

"The best things in life really don't come free,"

"I'm not selfish. I understand that my partners have needs."

"I don't enjoy being tempted by jailbait," Big Daddy joked. "I'll tell you what since I like your flair I'll give you a teaser. We'll discuss payment at a later time."

Kim nodded, signifying for him to continue.

"I've got some _friends _that tell me they've built a new beneath soil lair just out of Big Momma's jurisdiction. They pulled out all the stops on this bad boy, inside is all types of high technical scientifical whosiwhatsits. It was legoed together for two specific a reasons, to keep those who don't belong there out, and to hold whatever they pieced it together for, in." Big Daddy explained. "Now what they've got inside I, honestly, don't know; but damn I'd love to find out."

Kim nodded. Jargon aside, Big Daddy was proving to be as useful as she had hoped he would be.

"I need a location," Kim said, finishing her drink. She turned to him. "Anything you might know about where to find it."

Big Daddy looked Kim over and before he could help himself, he grinned. The redheaded vixen gracing his presence was withholding valuable information from him.

"You know what's inside," He said.

"Of course I do," Kim revealed. "And if you can get me some coordinates, so can you."

"Well, Miss Possible, it was nice of you to join me this fine evening," Big Daddy said standing up. "Perhaps in a few days we can meet each other for coffee."

"I don't have a few days," Kim said.

"If I wasn't a felon I could probably get what you need in a few hours," He said, finally setting his terms. "By ten o'clock you could be on your way to Paradise."

"You've got yourself an accord." Kim said with a polite smile. She watched as Big Daddy disappeared. She stayed at the bar a little longer before departing. She walked out of the nightclub and headed to her car. Placing her hand over the finger print recognition technology, she unlocked her car, opened the door, and climbed in.

Finding Shego was proving to be a little easier than she thought it would, proving the place Big Daddy had mentioned, was where they were holding Shego. Kim sighed and pulled out her Kimmunicator."

"Director," Kim said to the voice recognition program.

"Tell me you have good news," Betty said. She sounded frantic. "Shego's mother has been calling me. She never received Shego's stupid safety call."

"What is that?" Kim asked.

"You know parents, they have you call them when you get home to make sure you're all safe and sound, and shit. Shego always makes sure to call her so she can avoid her mother showing up on her doorstep. It doesn't help our case that she left her loyal companion behind."

"Well considering our current situation she has good reasons for that," Kim responded. "Shego gets into mare trouble when she isn't doing anything, than when she is."

"Tell me something I don't know," Betty, quipped.

"I need a favor."

"Go for it,"

"Big Daddy,"

"Daniel Brotherson? You're joking right? I've been building a case against that sleaze ball for years."

"He knows where Shego is," Kim said plainly. "We don't have many choices here. In any case if he's lying, which is bad for business, you could always magically make everything reappear."

"You think he'll talk if I flew over to that night club of his and put a bullet in his…"

"Betty, you really need sleep," Kim interrupted. "I have an appointment with him in the morning. If you could take care of the little blip for me. We could be one step closer to Shego."

"You make sure he knows if I so much as catch a whiff of him the deal is off." Betty said. She disconnected the call and Kim released a breath she did not know she had been holding. Sleep deprived Betty was scary.

Shego had not really looked at her guest until he spoke of meeting her again. She sat up quickly and the man took a step back. A smile crept onto his face as the look of recognition registered on Shego's. This was the moment he had been waiting for. Adrenaline flared to life, the girl in front of him invigorated him in ways that some would deem inappropriate given their close relation.

"It has been a while, has it not?" He asked. "I'd say ten years is quite the stint."

Shego's hands balled into fists as she stared into the eyes of the one person on the face of the planet she never wanted share the same space with. His hazel green eyes reflected her own within its depths. Time had treated the man before her well, his black hair had hardly grayed, and there were not many visible lines on his face.

When she did not reply to his question, he stepped forward, testing her boundaries. Her fist snapped out coming into contact with his jaw. He smiled. Now that was the kind of reaction he would come to expect from his many hours of research on her. If she were anything like her mother that would not be the last time she would attempt to hit him.

"My dear Samantha," He sneered. "The first hit is free."

He rubbed the throbbing spot she had managed to connect with. There was only so much he would tolerate from her. Knowing her, it wouldn't take much time before his patience ran thin. The feisty ones always proved to be the best to crack. They offered up so much entertainment.

Shego's hands shook a little more than she cared for them too, so she tucked them underneath her legs. She did not want the man before her to get any funny ideas.

"You know I've waited a long time for this moment…"

"You said that already," She interrupted.

"You do speak," he said, the gleam in his eye intensifying. "I was beginning to think I'd have to resort to drastic measures to get you to be a little more… vocal."

Shego felt her stomach turn. Memories she had long since buried, threatened to resurface. She shut herself off from that part of her mind. She could not let him get to her. Even as she watched him blatantly look her over, she felt the child in her shrink back in fear. He always had a way of making her feel dirty.

"Of course we'll have to wait for the real fun," He laughed. "I've got a few questions for you, if you'd be so kind to answer them."

Shego rolled her eyes and she could instantly tell he did not like that response. His eyes shifted and he stared upon her dangerously before his expression changed back into the one he had previously displayed.

"We can do this the easy way," He said. "But if you want to be as stubborn as your bitch of a mother, we could gladly handle this a different way."

Shego growled and stood.

Kim Possible rolled to a stop in front of a small café. Big Daddy was already inside sipping coffee when she arrived. She walked up to the counter and ordered a cup of hot chocolate for herself. She was not a big coffee consumer. When her drink arrived, she went and sat down next to Big Daddy at the bar. A large manila envelope awaited her.

"I managed to get my hands on a copy of the blueprint of this place for you," He told her. "If I didn't know any better by looking at the overall layout I'd say it's pretty G.J typical; at least until you look at the unique design specification. You would think because it's underground their would be significant amounts of structural reinforcement, but what they've put in really makes you wonder what kind of trouble they're preparing for."

"They don't know what they're preparing for," Kim said. "So they're attempting to prepare for whatever might come."

Big Daddy nodded.

"There are a lot of security lock down defenses, infiltrating this place isn't going be easy. I would reconsider whatever it is you are contemplating. The guards around this place are armed and ordered to kill anything that moves." he took a sip of his coffee. "I'd definitely take into consideration whether or not whatever is in there is worth risking your life for."

"Your concern flatters me," Kim said. "But I've already made up my mind. I can't just leave her in there."

The two sat there in relative silence for a while. Each enveloped in their own thoughts. People walked by outside the café, unaware of the heavy plights that weight down on the young girl's shoulders. Sometimes she wished she could be one of those people. No hunting down kidnapped villains or saving the world from egomaniacs. She sighed.

"Shego?" He asked, when she nodded he shook his head. "That girl is always into something."

"You're telling me," Kim chuckled softly.

"Good people have died doing stupid things for women," Big Daddy smiled sadly. "Don't be one of those people."

"I don't intend to find myself six feet under any time soon," She assured him. She got up and retrieved her package. Sliding it underneath her right arm, she held out her hand. "It was a pleasure doing business with you, Big Daddy."

"I hope to not cross paths with you too soon," He said grasping her hand. "But I do hope I see you again."

Kim turned to leave before she remembered something.

"Oh and Big Daddy, Big Momma says keep your nose clean, she's watching you."

He gave her a salute and she was off.

When Kim entered the safety of her room, she called Doctor Director.

"Director," She answered.

"I've got what we need for the most part, but I've been looking over some of this stuff and I don't know how we're going to get inside. I suppose if I actually were Shego this would be no problem. They are armed to the teeth in there. Heat sensors, surveillance camera's, traps, dead ends, lock down sequences, armed guards, which I'm sure have to have more qualifications than a high school kid needing a little extra money." Kim rambled. "And it's not like we can go in there blowing stuff up, this place is more heavily protected than a doomsday shelter."

Dr. Director sighed, she had expected this. There was much more to what they were doing than she told Kim. She did not want the young woman to panic and do something stupid.

"I need you to come in," she said. "There are things I need to tell you face to face, but first off. You can't just skip school, nowadays they actually call when you aren't in class."

"Oh yeah," Kim said blushing. "I forgot."

"I'll see you tomorrow _after _school," Dr. Director said.

Kim huffed. Shego was a little more important than school was at this point, but she supposed Dr. Director has a valid point. God forbid her parents found out what in the world was going on.

Shego's breath caught in her throat as she was brought to her knees. Electrical currents surging through her with no discernable destination. She did not know where they were coming from or how long the pain would last, but her world had just begun to darken when it stopped.

"That was a nice little device I had created just for you," He said, she could hear the admiration in his voice. He paced around her slowly. He enjoyed watching the girl in a weakened state, albeit it was momentary, but why ruin a good thing. "You see, it's latched onto your brain stem and it does all types of nifty little things I won't fill you in on."

"As you can feel from my little demonstration, none of those purposes positively serve you." He chuckled and moved closer to her. He bent down to her level and patted her head. "Now why don't you be a good girl and do what you're told."

He didn't have time to blink before Shego sent him flying across the room. His head slammed back against the observation glass on the doors. She was upon him again in an instant but before she could do any more damage, she was met again with another mind-numbing jolt of electricity.

The doors opened and guards stood on the other side. Guns drawn and upon her. Two more guards entered and grabbed the unconscious man. They backed out and Shego fell backward, reeling from the high voltage shock. The feeling of the cool linoleum tile floor was lost on her as she regurgitated the random contents of her stomach.

Again, electricity flashed through her. Her jaw clamping shut tightly as she writhed around on the floor. Through the pain, her mind flashed back to all of the times Neelam had said those exact same words, treating her as if she was nothing more than a mongrel that needed temperament training. As her anger intensified, the currents crashed through her more violently, blinding the recesses of her mind from her. Darkness claimed her mind as the currents continued to ravage her.

When she awoke, she was back in the bed and again the room was dark save for medical equipment that had been brought into the room. She was hooked up to an I.V. which told her she'd been asleep for a while. Her feeding bag was nearly empty. She went to move her arms and they were immobilized by restraints. She groaned. Even if she could move, she probably wouldn't. If their little device hadn't permanently damaged her neural pathways who was to say what type of damage it had done to her respiratory functions, only god knew what type of havoc it set upon her heart.

The know-it-all scientists sure were a bunch of idiots in Shego's opinion. Either these screw-ups had no regard for her overall health or this, minus what she had done to Dickhead, was a test. If her body had been able to restore all of its damaged nerves and return them to their original eighteen-year-old pristine state, it had been effective.

Shego's cognitive abilities seemed to be within working condition. She wondered how long she had been unconscious. The outer doors opened and after they closed, the inner doors opened. The room's secondary lights came to life. Shego closed her eyes and when she opened them, she stared into the face of DNAmy.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Shego asked, but failed horribly. The sound that erupted from her throat was a garbled slur of incomprehensible verbiage.

"Relax," Amy, told her. "Those idiots had no idea what they were doing. There was a lot of damage but it seems like your body is handling the repairs on its own. A few more hours of sleep and you should be fine."

Shego glared at her. As she replaced the I.V fluids and checked the monitors over.

"I didn't put you here," Amy said quietly. "But I'll do everything I can to help you stay in relatively good health."

Shego said nothing, not only because she could not, but also because it made her wonder if Amy was in the same boat as she was. She wondered how many other people were here, or if Amy was just needed for her specific skills. It did not matter. The only thing she cared about was getting out of this hellhole before she killed someone.

"I gave you a small dose of anesthesia; don't be alarmed if you start to not feel anything. I do not know to what degree your body will respond to it. For all we know it could have no effect at all."

Shego was not sure she should be grateful or not. She continued to watch Amy check her over and then the woman left, turning the lights out as she exited through the doors. Shego smiled to herself when she noticed the damage she had done. Apparently, the material the doors were made of was not as strong as it looked.

She tucked that information away, there was not much she could do for now.

Kim entered Dr. Director's office the next day. Kim had met with Will Due in the parking lot of her school earlier that morning so he could retrieve the envelope she had acquired from Big Daddy. When she was escorted inside the older woman's office, Betty stood to greet her. There were four other people in the room. None of them looked like Global Justice officials. Kim greeted them before taking a seat in the only vacant chair.

"I want to introduce you to my Boys from the Back Room," she said to Kim, ignoring the fact that one of them was female. "They're the genius' behind all the extremely cool gadgets you see laying around my division."

"Nice," Kim said with a smile.

"Just call them by their hair color," Betty said dismissing it. The four grinned. "I never cared to learn their names."

It was the first time Kim noticed that they each had different hair colors and it appeared to be natural. She wondered if Betty had done this on purpose or if it was just a coincidence.

"I asked you to come here so we could smooth out a few details."

"None of which you are going to understand right off, mainly because it's full of minuscule details that really have nothing to do with the mission at hand." The blonde male said.

"I wouldn't necessarily say _nothing," _The raven-haired one responded. "That's an extremely variable word…"

"Don't start," The only female said.

The two males quieted down and looked toward Betty who was waiting for them to finish.

"When the nerds start to argue it's best to just allow them to run their course," Betty explained to Kim. "Or else we'll all get dragged into it."

Kim nodded. She listened as Betty went through the motions of explaining to her what was happening to Shego and how she came to find out about it. Kim was not exactly sure what to make of the situation.

"Shego was nice enough to give us a blood sample while she was here for the gloves," The redhead male began. "One would think you wouldn't be able to do much with a blood sample, and if you weren't us, there probably isn't. Of course, by using a small amount of it, we were able to give Shego a momentary solution to her problem. The technology worked along side the heat signature her hands projected. One side would absorb the heat while the other side would dissipate it. It was actually kind of cool we ended up using…"

"She doesn't care," The black haired male interrupted. "We took the same innovative idea and applied it to a catsuit…"

"Only reversed," The redhead explained. "Heat absorbed from the outside would be cooled as it came in contact with the catsuit, so the wearer of said suit would be completely protected."

"Protected from what exactly?" Kim asked. She was following the conversation as best she could but there still seemed to be some missing pieces of information.

The brunette female rolled her eyes.

"Plasma," The four coursed.

"When we made the gloves for Shego we weren't exactly sure what was causing her to heat up. People don't just start burning through things overnight." The blond explained. "With the left over blood sample we were able to do a full workup."

"Basically we started doing weird shit to it, to see how it would react." The female said. "Freezing it, heating it up, letting it sit out in a contaminated environment, stuff like that."

"We introduced all types of viruses to it," said the blond. "Our findings were pretty interesting."

"No, they weren't." The redhead stated flatly. "The white blood cells fought off the viruses."

"But they didn't just fight them off;" the raven haired male cut in. "They annihilated them."

"Bottom line is," Betty stopped them. "There is a reason they've maximized the structural integrity."

"When we placed Shego's blood samples under undue stress. They went berserk. I mean like, incredible hulk, type shit here," The redhead explained.

"Now we're thinking they want to take what the boys did to Shego's blood and apply it to the source," Betty said. "The only problem is they have no idea what they're dealing with. For all we know Shego alone is a ticking bomb just waiting to explode. Under extreme stress we can't give an exact estimate on what she can do…"

"Well then," Kim said. "Looks like we've got our work cut out for us."

-Author's note-

I just realized I really like torturing Shego. I don't know what it is about having people do mean stuff to her but it can be a real stress relief. Especially when/if everyone gets what's coming to them in the end. Anyway. See you next chapter.


	20. Mother Knows Best

Chapter 20: Mother Knows Best

"We need a plan," Dr. Betty Director began before her phone ringing cut her off. She pulled the offending piece of technology off of her waist and looked at the caller I.D. if the sleep deprived woman hadn't been pale enough. She blanched. "It's _her_."

The other five occupants of the room looked at each other. They all knew who she was referring to. The blond male got up and approached the office windows. He looked out of them to make sure the coast was clear. He gave a thumbs up and Betty answered, setting it to speaker phone.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Orrick," Dr. Director tried to sound upbeat when she answered the phone. She was failing horribly.

"Elizabeth," Karoline Orrick said sternly. "You've been avoiding my calls."

"I've been outrageously busy around the office, my apologies for not getting back to you," Betty replied. "What is it I can do for you today?"

"I've been trying to find Shadow," Mrs. Orrick said. They could hear the concern in her voice. "You wouldn't happen to know where she is would you?"

Dr. Director sighed. She contemplated what she was going to say but she thought on it a little too long.

"Now that's not a good sign," Mrs. Orrick said.

"We've been trying to find her also," Dr. Director answered. "You know how Shego is, when she falls off the face of the earth, she always has to make a dramatic exit."

The unease in Dr. Directors voice was nearly tangible. She was horrible at sounding convincing when she wasn't sincere.

"I get the feeling you're hiding something from me, Elizabeth," Mrs. Orrick told her after a long pause. "And when I find out what it is, both of you will be in trouble."

The line went dead and everyone sans Dr. Director gave a collective sigh of relief. There was no telling what Shego's mother would do now that she wasn't completely satisfied with her answers regarding her daughters whereabouts.

"Something tells me we need to kick this into overdrive," Kim said. "She's been missing a few days."

"So far we've only been able to create one catsuit," The female said. "We'll need at least another day to make four more."

"Four?" Kim asked.

"You're not going in there alone," Betty told her. "My boys are going to provide you cover until you make contact with Shego. I need people there to make sure you get out in the same condition you went in."

Kim nodded.

"Make that five if you can," Kim told Betty's boys. "I need my right hand."

"You want to take Ronald?" Dr. Director said incredulously. The look on Kim's face told her it wasn't exactly up for debate. "As much as a good idea as you may think this is, I'm sorry to inform you that it isn't. I can't knowingly allow you to put him in that much danger. Monkey powers or no."

Kim scrunched her eyebrows together in defiance. She wasn't familiar with Betty's group but she supposed the older woman had a point. One wrong move from Ron could cost them everything.

"I'll go in with you," Dr. Director told her. "If anyone should be sticking their neck out onto the line, it's me."

"That's ridiculous," The redhead said, the other three expressed their agreement with head nods.

"I have two options," Betty said. "I can go out there with you or sit here and deal with the wrath of her mother. When I weigh both of those choices, a bullet to the head isn't so bad."

"Then we better get started," The female said standing up. The three remaining group members stood and exited the room.

"So, do they really not have names?" Kim asked, her eyes filled with mirth. Calling them by their hair color was going to become tedious.

"If it makes you feel better you can number them," Dr. Director responded. "Other than that their names are irrelevant."

Shego paced around her cell. She woke up, what she presumed was, a few hours ago and found herself unbound and the room cleared of all medical devices. She was back to just her bed. In the corner of the room she discovered a door. Upon inspection she found it unlocked and a bathroom was presented to her. It consisted of a shower, a sink, a wicker laundry hamper and a toilet. She looked around and there didn't appear to be a camera inside.

Hanging over one of the hand rails, towels and clean clothes identical to the scrubs she currently wore, were awaiting her use. She looked down at herself and crinkled her nose. During her little fiasco with her good ol' pal electricity, she had managed to smear throw up over the front of her shirt.

She pulled the tunic off and disposed of it into the hamper, before turning on the water. How courteous of them she thought snidely. She set the water to the correct temperature and stripped out of the rest of her clothing.

Inside the shower stall a bar of soap and a bottle of shampoo were provided for her. She didn't exactly know what to make of this. Apparently someone was a little screwed up in the human rights department. This made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. They had built this with the obvious intention to keep her holed up for quite a long time.

Shego quickly showered and dried off. She changed into the fresh clothes and twisted her hair before tying it up. A hair tie and a comb was obviously too much to ask for. Shego muttered to herself. Her voice was back in working condition, not that she was surprised.

Shego exited the bathroom and sat on her bed. No one came to visit her, which she was somewhat glad for. Her stomach growled but she ignored it. She relaxed into a comfortable position and closed her eyes. She concentrated on evening out her breathing and before she knew it, she was eased into a deep meditation.

Jacob stuck closely to the heels of his master's mother. He put his nose to the ground and looked for a familiar fresh scent along the carpeted floor of his home. When they approached the door. He watched as Karoline Orrick knocked patiently on the door. She waited a few more moments before preceding to knock again.

"She isn't home," A voice he knew well informed them. He watched as Karrie turned around. "I haven't seen your girl in weeks."

Karrie smiled.

"It's that obvious isn't it," She laughed. "My side of the family carries very dominant genes."

Joy laughed.

"Your girl is something else you know that?" Joy asked. "Just the sweetest thing I've had the chance meet and boy can she cook."

"A skill I promise she didn't get from her father," Karrie joked.

"I'm Joy," The elder woman said, holding out her hand.

"Karoline," Karrie responded, grasping her hand firmly and shaking it.

"So what brings you by?" Joy asked. "Your young one would usually be at school around this time."

"I was suppose to drop by and pick up some things for Jacob, but it seems the trip was in vain." Karrie answered.

Joy returned her smile and pulled out her key card.

"There was a lot of commotion here a couple of days ago," Joy said. "Doesn't surprise me considering how well those two get along."

"Ah yes," Karrie replied. "I've been trying to give Samantha time to sort out her problems before intervening."

"Children have to grow up sometime," Joy agreed. "Please tell Sam she's missed around here. This old woman misses her amazing cooking abilities."

"I will," Karrie answered back with a laugh.

Jacob watched as they bid each other farewell. Karrie looked down at him and he knew his cue. The large dog entered the apartment on high alert as he searched for Neelam. He went through all of the rooms before ultimately discovering she really wasn't home.

He came back to discover Karrie ruffling through Shego's duffle bags. They weren't unpacked. It was unlike his master to leave her things laying around. Not only could she not stand clutter but her evil mate would harm her for such carelessness. Jacob growled pulling Karrie's attention away from her search momentarily.

"I know boy," She said calming him. "I don't like this either."

Jacob watched Karrie finish her search, from the bag she retrieved the old book his master treasured. She moved deeper into the dwelling. Her findings inconclusive. Whatever Joy had been referring to had obviously been repaired. She moved into the destroyed kitchen and wrinkled her nose at the disorder. Her obsessively compulsive daughter would never allow her kitchen to be left in such disarray.

She left the kitchen and made herself comfortable on the couch. Her back facing the door, she opened the book to the last page Shego read from and picked up where she had left off. A few hours passed before the door opened again.

Jacob lifted his head from his pillow and stared at Neelam as she stood, staring disbelievingly at the back of Karrie on the couch. Jacob saw her eyes wander over and rest upon him. He huffed at her in acknowledgement.

Karrie closed the book and turned so she could rest her eyes upon her daughters girlfriend for the first time. Neelam gulped as sharp jade eyes seemingly pierced through her. Jacob's tail wagged in excitement. His master's mother would teach this horrible woman a lesson. He barked, breaking Neelam's staring contest with Karrie.

"Am I to get up from my seat and carry you into your humble abode?" Karrie asked her slowly. From the looks of things Neelam was slow on the up take.

She shook her head and moved inside, speechless that the woman Shego never wanted her to meet was perched in her living room on her sofa.

"I require tea," Karrie said, opening Shego's book again. "hot, black, and no sugar."

Neelam stood there still in shock it wore off when Karrie pointedly looked up from her book.

"Be a good host," She said. "I have been patient long enough."

Jacob barked, adding his own addition to Karrie's demand.

"Good boy, Jacob," Karrie said fondly. "So well trained."

The dark haired male entered Shego's holding cell, armed guards behind him. One of his eyes remained swollen shut. His bottom lip had ceased bleeding but in its dry state it was prone to busting open again. The back of his head had been stitched shut. The brat had managed to do a small number on him. He'd been too confident in his pieces of technology and made the mistake of underestimating her ability to overcome pain through the use of rage.

He smiled, his lip cracking as he did so. There was so much to be cataloged from just that small encounter. Watching her as she took deep steady breaths, he drew closer. She mesmerized him, captivating him much like her mother had done in their younger years. He reached out to touch her porcelain skin, but Shego quickly grabbed his wrist.

Opening her eyes she shoved him backward. The guards guns were trained on her from their position at the doors.

"No need to be hostile," He said with a huff.

Shego almost mimicked the action but chose a low growl instead. She buried the urge to use him as a human battering ram. She would have to control her temper if she hoped to see more of this place.

"Come," He said to her. "We're going on a field trip."

He moved toward the doors and when Shego hadn't moved from her seat, he felt annoyance tug pull from the back of his mind. He quelled it. It wouldn't do him any good to have her in poor condition for her first test.

"If you don't want to cooperate,"

"I don't get shoes, Henry?" Shego asked, speaking the man's name for the first time. "At least be considerate enough to give me a pair of socks."

"I'll make you a deal," Henry told her, shoving his hands into his lab jacket. "Behave yourself and when we get to where we're going, I'll give you your socks."

Shego frowned. She didn't really require socks. Barefoot was preferred for a quick stealthy getaway. By the look on his face she was close to achieving her goal of annoying him for the day.

"No can do," She told him. Scooting backwards so her back was against the wall, she tucked her feet further underneath her. "Who knows what those cronies of yours are passing around."

"Is that your choice?" He asked.

A smirk crept onto his face.

"So be it." He told her. "I have other ways of getting the results I want."

Before Shego could respond he was gone. She frowned inwardly. She wasn't sure what he was up to, but what ever it was, she didn't see herself being too pleased by the time it was up.

An hour later she was more than aware of what his game plan was. The room was gradually heating up. Shego rolled her eyes. If they thought a little heat was going to effect her they were vastly mistaken. Even as more time passed and the heat intensified, she tried to keep her mind occupied. Sweat stained her fresh tunic and dripped steadily from her brow.

Not focusing on the plight her body was suffering through was beginning to become more difficult. She estimated it to be over one hundred degrees in the small room. Either this was another test or they wanted to cook her alive. With doors sealed shut, and no windows, the room was basically an oven trapping the heat inside.

Shego's eyes drifted over to the bathroom door. Beyond it, the shower called to her. She shook her head. That would have to wait. She couldn't have them turning off the cold water. They would dehydrate her before they did any actual damage. She removed herself from her bed and laid down on the floor. It was slightly cooler here but not by much. This time she could appreciate the tiled floor. She got the feeling they would become very familiar with each other.

Henry watched from air conditioned safety of his lab. He accessed the temperature controls and took a look at the time. The room had been at one hundred and forty degrees for over five minutes now and she appeared to be holding up fairly well.

He scribbled his thoughts down in his notebook before turning up the heat. Watching her squirm warmed his heart. She was so resilient.

"You're harming her," Amy said sternly. "I've been taking a look at your so called research. None of it was conclusive enough to show that torment was the only way to bring forth these results."

"Silence woman," he told her. He looked closely, moving his hand over his mouse he zoomed in closer to Shego. "There it is."

Amy came closer and leaned over his shoulder.

"I'm afraid I don't see what you do," she said.

"The back of her neck," he told her dismissively.

Amy squinted her eyes. With her glasses she couldn't see what he was talking about. She removed them and studied the girl on the monitor. Amy held in a sound of intrigue. She returned her glasses to their position on her face. Moving him over roughly she brought the temperature down to a tolerable level.

He glared at her but did not adjust it back. Instead he went back to recording his findings. When he was finished he sat back. Tapping the tip of his pen loudly against the table.

"Will you knock it off?" Another occupant of the lab asked. "I'm trying to concentrate."

Henry smiled. He minimized the display of Shego's room and opened the security alarm controls. If roasting her upset the help, he would continue his research another way.

Shego jumped violently as an alarm blared loudly into her room. As if the heat wasn't enough to infuriate her, she thought clamping her hands over her ears. She wasn't sure how much more of this she would be able to tolerate.

Karrie Orrick looked up when a steaming mug was outstretched in front of her. She accepted it and set it down on the coffee table before her. If Shego had been present she might have been more inclined to use a coaster.

"Have a seat," Karrie told her. It was more of a command than a suggestion.

Neelam hesitated but did as she was told. From the things Shego had said about her mother, the older woman didn't enjoy repeating herself.

"Those are some interesting injuries you have there," Karrie said. He eyes still soaking in the words from book before her.

Neelam glanced at the piece of literate and recognized it instantly.

"Want to tell me how you got them?" She asked, gently turning the delicate page.

"I got into a bit of a scuffle," Neelam answered finally managing to find her voice. "Some Global Justice blokes came through and caused some commotion."

"Elizabeth's agents?" Karrie inquired.

"No," Neelam told her. "She doesn't know who they were or what they wanted with Samantha."

Karrie's eyebrows quirked together at the personal usage of her daughters first name.

"Shego," Karrie corrected. "You have not earned the right refer to my child in front of me with such familiarity."

Neelam's stunned look slowly morphed into her trademark glare. Jacob growled from his spot on the floor. Shego was not here to tell him to behave, he did not like the look in which Neelam fixed upon his master's mother.

Karrie closed the book gently and set it down in her lap. Slowly she leaned forward grasping the mug of steaming tea from the coffee table, bringing it to her lips. She inhaled the aroma and frowned. The scent of black tea was not sweet.

"Was there something about no sugar that confused you?" Karrie asked. The irritation that laced her features was unmistakable. Her free hand twitched. Had this been one of her children, they would have been smart enough to try to get a head start by now. "Perhaps it's time someone taught you a few lessons."

Jacob barked in agreement.

-Aurthor's note-

I really love, Jacob. I think he's one of my most well rounded characters from this story.


	21. Something That I Want

_Chapter Twenty-One: Something That I Want._

Shego groaned. The alarm was giving her a headache. Whenever she began to become accustom to the alarm, they would change the pattern. Noise wasn't something she could handle as well as heat. Aside from the fact that she hadn't eaten anything since her I.V. had been removed, she hadn't been able to fall asleep.

She wasn't as proficient as her elder family members were at meditation. Falling deep enough into it to block out the noise just wasn't in her skill set. Her hand shook and she looked down at it. It was turning green again she observed with a frown. She didn't want to give Henry further reasons to keep her here.

Shego looked over at the doors and wondered what would be worse. Being a sitting duck or having a little fun. She got up and moved toward to security camera in the corner. She wondered why they hadn't felt the need to cover it. Not that it would have mattered much. The brunette jumped, managing to wrap her hand around the base of the camera she yanked hard, ripping it from its foundation. Satisfied with herself she ripped it open and pulled out any parts that could be of some use to her. She tossed the mechanical device onto the floor in front of the door.

The doors to her room opened and an angered Henry rushed through the doors. He yelled but the sound of the alarm blaring overhead muffled him. Shego shrugged her shoulders and nonchalantly sat on her bed. If they wanted to play games with her, she wasn't above giving them her own amount of hell.

The alarm shut off and she watched him as he seethed.

"You really should do something about that temper," She told him coolly. "It's horrible for your blood pressure."

"Restrain her," He told the guards.

The four uniformed men looked at each other uneasily, much to Shego's amusement. She saved them the decision making. She bolted passed them and through the first opened pair of doors. The floor opened underneath her before she had a chance the back track and she fell through it. She cursed herself as the floor above her closed.

Gas entered the chamber and she feel unconscious.

"Pull her out," Henry said. "Amy!"

The large woman opened the outer doors as the guards pulled Shego back into her room. She slowly walked inside as they placed the young woman on her bed.

"Put the jacket on her," He commanded. "We're moving."

"Sir you're being irrational," She told him. "The jacket should be enough for the time being…"

Henry's brought the back side of his hand sharply across her face. Her glasses fell from her face. The lenses cracking as they hit the floor. The large woman held in a whimper. She felt the hot tears as they stung to the surface. She inhaled deeply. Crying would do her no good. She moved to retrieve her glasses and sighed at the damage.

"I'll need another pair," She said softly.

"Whatever," He answered dismissively, turning his attention back to Shego and the henchmen who stood over her. "Put the jacket on so we can go before she wakes up."

Amy moved to do as she was told but was stopped by a hand grasping her wrist.

"The next time you question my authority, you'll find yourself in much worse condition," Henry warned her. "As our guest is about to learn, disobedience is not tolerated here well."

Amy nodded and was released. Quickly she managed to tuck the unconscious girl into the jacket. She made sure all the buckles we fastened and stepped away. The larger of the henchmen hoisted Shego over his shoulder and nodded.

They left the room that was to be Shego's housing and headed down the corridor.

Shego's growling stomach woke her. Her head hung forward loosely. Her eyes fluttered opened and but she couldn't get her vision to focus. She lifted her head and a wave of nausea hit her. The world around her whirled. She heard speaking off in the distance, but it sounded muffled.

"Fuck," Shego groaned. Her own voice sounded distant.

She vaguely felt someone approach her. A rough hand stroked her hair. She felt the hand travel down to her face.

"So beautiful," She heard Henry say.

She growled.

"Oh no," He said. "We won't have that."

He pulled a syringe from the inside pocket of his lab coat. Henry smiled as he kneeled down beside her.

"I've got something for you," He said with a laugh. "You won't enjoy this as much as I will."

Shego felt the needle pierce her skin and the burning sting of the intruding chemical

"This is a little something I had cooked up just for you," Henry told her. "If I ever let you come down, you'll have to tell me how you like it."

The young woman didn't give him any indication that she'd heard him. Nothing seemed real to her anymore. She closed her eyes. The light was becoming too much for her to handle. She could feel her heart pounding.

"We're going to do a little experiment," Henry said. "And if you're good, it won't hurt very much."

Shego wanted to protest but couldn't get her mouth the function correctly. She groaned and couldn't help but wonder what would happen to her if she never made it out. No one knew where she was and who, beside her family, would care enough to look? Shego felt the sting off tears as they rushed forward. She'd die here, in this room, with this man, and there would be nothing she could do about it.

"Are those tears?" He asked, bending down closely. He grasped her face and forced it upward toward the light. "Where's mommy now, Samantha? I bet you're trapped in there wondering why she hasn't come for you. Begging for her to bust through those doors and save her little shadow!"

He laughed.

"In case you haven't figured it out," he said. "You're mind now, and there's no way out."

"Amy!" He summoned. "Come, and bring the video camera. The festivities are about to begin."

Karoline Orrick adjusted the her hold on Jake's leash as she closed the door to her daughter's shared apartment. She begin walking down the hall and paused at the elevator. She stepped forward and pressed the button for the first floor.

Her cell phone rang. She pulled it out and checked the ID. The number was restricted. That only meant one thing.

"Elijah," Karrie answered. "Such a pleasure to hear from you dear sister."

"Save it, Karoline." The elder woman replied. "I received an interesting phone call from our sweet cousin Yoss."

"Did you now?" Karoline asked. The elevator signaled it's arrival with a ding. The doors slid open. She accompanied Jake inside and pushed the button for the correct floor. "What could our killer cousin have said that would be of interest to me?"

"Apparently she was in Middleton a few days ago and spotted that little redheaded heroine speaking to the daughter Director."

"Not unusual," Karoline answered. "They're both on the same sides of the law."

"They were discussing your youngling," Elijah replied. "Something about warning her about trouble that could be coming her way. Apparently some special sect of Global Justice got word of our little Sammie's special abilities and wanted to pay her a visit."

"Global Justice eh?" Karoline asked. "No way she left after gaining that little nugget of information."

The elevator reached the ground floor and she exited, Jake at her heels. She began walking to her car.

"I'm getting to that," she replied. "Sweet cousin decided to hunt the little redhead. After losing her a few times she camped outside of the girls residence and caught sight of her one evening. Followed her to a nearby club."

"Teenagers and clubs not strange," Karoline said. "Lets get to the essentials here."

"She made contact with someone well known in the underground and of course after she left, Yoss just had to know what they spoke of." Elijah said.

"You're agitating me," Karrie said. "Get to the point."

"Patience!" Elijah responded.

Karrie huffed.

"Good girl," She praised. "There's a nifty little compound they've built off the map. We've got a good inkling that's where you'll find your shadow."

"How does one find this little compound?"

"Likely for you Gabrielle spends most of her life these days hacking GJ databases, I'll send you an address. Meet us there." Elijah told her. "If she's in there, they'll rue the day."

Karoline hung up and shortly after received a text message. She opened the message and scanned the address. There was an attached file and she opened it. She recognized her cousin's hand writing over the images she flipped through on her phone. She took note of the safety precautions and raised her eyebrow. It would take more than bullets and brawn to get to Shego.

She closed the message and dialed her favorite person.

Kim zipped up the back of her suit and looked herself over. Betty's phone rang in the back ground.

"Damn it,' Kim heard her curse. "It's her again."

"Why don't we just tell her what we know?" Kim asked. "I get the need for confidentiality to a certain extent, but this is Shego's mother, she deserves the know that her daughters life is in danger."

"You don't know her, Kim." Betty said. "She'll try to go in there alone. Shego's entire family is nuts."

"I don't know how protecting on of your own is nuts." Kim argued. Betty's Boys entered the room, fully suited up. "You might want to answer that."

"Director," Betty answered.

"I'm disappointed in you, Elizabeth." Karoline said. "I thought you were on my side."

"Mrs. Orrick, you have to understand we have everything under control." Betty responded.

"I don't think you do," she replied. "We'll retrieve Shadow ourselves."

"Mrs. Orrick…"

"Look Elizabeth," Karrie said. "You have your specialty and we have ours. You won't get within ten yards of that place without being spotted."

"And you won't get out of that place alive," Better retorted.

"It looks like we need each other," Karoline said. Following the route outlined for her on her GPS. "We'll meet you there, don't move without our signal."

Betty was about to reply when the phone went dead.

"We've got to move," She told the group. "It looks like we'll have some assistance."

Kim nodded.

"It's probably for the best." their resident brunette answered. "They are thieves after all."

"This might sound weird," the raven haired male said. "Can't we just arrest them all at once? They are all wanted criminals you know."

"You don't arrest criminals when you're working with them," Kim said. "That's bad for business and isn't proper crime fighting etiquette."

"Right …" He responded.

"Red, I want you to monitor all frequencies once we're out there. We're going to be waiting for some type of signal. I'm not sure how we'll get it but I don't want to leave out anything."

"Aye," He said in response.

"I'm digging the material," Kim said, lifting up her foot and wagging it back and forth. "It's very flexible."

"Good," the blond said. "You'll need flexible."

"Our ride is ready," the brunette said. "It's go time."

Kim patted at her waist for her Kimmunicator and pulled it out.

"Wade," The dark male answered as he appeared on screen. "What's up, Kim?"

"I need you to keep an active lock onto my location. If I drop off the radar and you can't reach me, call it in." She told him.

"Will do," He responded. "Going to tell me what you're up to?"

"Not a chance." Kim smiled. "Don't worry, you should hear from me in a few hours."

"Come on, Possible."

Kim ended her call with Wade and hustled to meet up with the rest of the group.

This was it.

Author's note: Just bare with me a little bit I've been having so much trouble getting past this part. Once I do we're home free with the rest of the story. I swear it.


	22. Shadows and Regrets

Chapter 22: Shadows and Regrets

Shego felt her skin grow hot and nausea set in. She was beginning to shake. The confusion that washed over her was almost too much. She felt a cool hand on her forehead. She looked up unsteadily. The figure before her was large and she deduced it was Amy.

"He's injected you with a virus," Amy whispered. "It won't be long before your body begins to respond more aggressively."

Shego groaned in response to her words.

"What does more aggressive mean?" Shego wanted to ask, but her words slurred together when she tried to speak.

Amy pressed a cool towel to her face, it wasn't much, but it took same of her discomfort away.

"Help me," Shego gasped out. It was so quiet Amy almost missed it.

"I'm trying," she replied. "it's nearly too late."

Shego groaned again. Her head spun and she felt her anger rise, almost as it had done for Neelam.

"Calm down," Amy said, looking around anxiously. "This is what he wants."

"Calm down?" Shego repeated, this time her speech was clear. "I don't think so …"

"Shego!"

"Why don't we just give him what he wants?" Shego growled. She could feel her body burning off the virus that coursed through her veins. Her mind sharpened. She clenched her fists and Amy backed away as they flared to life. Plasma, hot as it dripped from her hands, began melting through the floor.

The indicators on the monitors that were hooked up to Shego started going into the red. Her heart began to pound in her ears and heat began surging through her. She flushed green, it spreading upward from her hands until her entire body took on the brilliant shade.

It was too late to stop her. Too late to try and contain the young woman's power.

Shego grinned. She could almost sense Amy's far, but Amy wasn't who she wanted.

"Henry,"

She felt the plasma travel to her wrists burning through the bounds that restrained her. Alarms began to sound but Shego ignored them as she attempted to stand, she swayed forward. The drugs not having been completely eradicated by her plasma.

Henry watched the scene before him unfold. He chuckled at the look of fear plastered on Amy's face.

This was it. The moment he had been waiting for.

The floor began to give way underneath her bare feet, the linoleum flooring pooling around each of her steps with little effort.

"Take me to him," Shego told Amy.

The large woman nodded vigorously moving toward the doors, she moved to the left side of them and over to the keypad, entering the correct code Amy cursed when the doors denied her access.

"I can't unlock the doors," she said. "They must have been watching from the control room and revoked my access codes."

Amy blanched at the sinister laugh that was given to her in response.

Shego stepped up to the doors, placing her palms against them she laughed harder as they began to sink through the steel. Soon there was a hole large enough for both of them to climb through.

"You're going to show me how to get out of this death trap," she said to Amy.

"I wish I could." Amy said. "I woke up here much like you did."

Shego growled.

"Well aren't you just helpful,"

"Don't get angry with me," Amy said. "One moment I was busy in my lab creating this really fascinating embryontic fertilization mechanism and the next I was here."

Amy followed Shego down the hall. Soon they were met by Global Justice agents.

Shego flushed with excitement, the thrill and the anticipation of the fight caused her plasma to flare brighter.

"Stand back," Shego said to Amy. "Shit's about to get real in here."

Kim and Betty's boys waited for the signal from Shego's family. They'd dropped into position nearly an hour ago. They had been ready to move in on the action when they heard alarms ring from inside the compound. Betty assured them that wasn't what they were waiting for.

Kim bit her lower lip. She was anxious and wanted to get inside already. Whatever was going on in there Shego needed them. Sam needed her. Her friend… She shook her head to clear her thoughts.

"What is that?" with the suits on Kim couldn't tell Betty's boys apart.

She squinted her eyes. There was something moving toward them.

"Possible it seems to be some sort of animal," Betty said into their ear pieces. "Blond you have my permission to take it out."

"Roger that," The man next to Kim said. He pulled his weapon out, fixing his sights on the moving beast.

"Gotcha," He said, his finger on the trigger.

"Wait!" Kim called pushing his rifle. The animal moved out of his sights as he pulled the trigger."

"What the fuck?" He growled.

"That's Jacob," Kim exclaimed. The dog trotted over to them, greeting Kim like an old friend.

"Hello boy," Kim said, petting him. She spoke into her intercom. "We almost killed her dog. Way to go, Doctor D. I don't get the feeling she would have appreciated that."

"We'll keep this between us," Betty said. "that's your signal."

"Let's move out," Kim said. She got up, staying low they moved in the direction Jacob had come from.

The team traveled quickly and soon enough they were at the entrance to the compound. Waiting for them near the door was a woman in what at first glance appeared to be Shego's catsuit. Upon closer inspection Kim noted the differences. The woman before her wore Shego's signature green and black, but around her wrists and ankles on the green sides was one black stripe and the black sides held a green. Their guest star wore a hooded mask.

She didn't say anything when they caught up. There was a stairway leading down into the ground. Kim and her teamed followed her inside.

"No," The woman said leading them told Jacob as he attempted to stay behind. "come."

Jacob joined them down the stair well.

There was an explosion as they reached the door that lead them further inside and the lights flickered, then went out.

"Night night," Kim heard someone say on her headset.

"Affirmative," The woman before them replied.

Kim turned on her night vision. They heard two guards before them on the other side of the door they needed to go through.

"Wait," the woman in the catsuit said. "I'll be right back."

Kim watched as she worked her magic on the door, getting it to open for her with little effort. The woman disappeared on the other side of the door and came back motioning that the coast was clear. When they entered there were four guards laying unmoving on the ground.

"They're alive right?" One of Betty's boys asked.

The woman scoffed but didn't answer his question.

They heard shouting from somewhere ahead of them and took off toward the sounds. They encountered a few hostiles but they were easily subdued.

"We need to split up," Kim said. "It'll take us forever to find her this way."

"Jacob," The dogs ear perked up at the sound of his name. "Fetch."

The dog sniffed the air and took off ahead of them. He stopped suddenly, nose to the ground as he sniffed. When they approached they found the corridor came to a split. He'd lost her scent.

"We'll go this way," Kim said.

The woman nodded and she and Jacob took off in the opposite direction.

"Shall we," the other female of the group asked. They continued on.

"I get the feeling we're all going to end up on our own," one of the guys said.

"I'll go this way," Kim said. "You lot stick together. I'm sure what ever I come up against I can handle."

"Even locked doors?" Their guest said walking up. "Take the corridor on the left. Don't make any right turns, you'll just end up back here."

The four nodded and left them.

"Got a name?" Kim finally asked.

Kim couldn't tell if the woman pursed her lips or not but she did appear to be staring in her direction.

"Orrick," She answered simply.

Shego tapped her foot impatiently as more guards surrounded her. This had only been fun the first ten times, now they were getting pathetic. They trained guns on her and she rolled her eyes.

"Funs over Samantha," Henry told her walking up. "You didn't really think I'd just let you walk out of here did you?"

"Of course not," Kim said running up from behind them.

"Henry?" Orrick asked out loud in confusion. She took a few steps toward him and he blanched, shuffling backwards. "I thought I told you to stay away from…"

"Keep back," He warned, cutting her off. "Wouldn't want your precious Samantha getting hurt."

Shego scoffed.

"You sound scared," Shego taunted. "What's wrong? Where is all the shit talking now?"

"Shut up!" He yelled.

Shego dropped to her knees again. She was getting really sick of whatever device he'd planted inside her.

"Henry stop it," Amy said. "You're going to get us all killed."

"I don't care!" He said. "If anyone follows me I swear she'll never wake up again."

Shego's muscles tightened and she forced her eyes shut. The plasma traveling up from her hands to inflame the rest of her body.

Kim and Orrick shielded their eyes while Amy opted to look away.

"We've got to get out of here," Amy told them.

"We can't just leave her here," Orrick said.

"Unless you can stop Henry we don't have a choice." Amy answered.

"You can get to Henry faster than I can," Kim told Orrick. The flood lights along the floor came on down on sides of the hallway and the other side stayed dim.

"Follow the lights and get out of here," Kim told Amy. "I'll help Shego."

Orrick hesitated and then nodded taking off after the deranged man.

"I can't just leave you,"

"Don't worry about me," Kim said. "Take Jacob and just go."

Amy didn't need more coaxing. She took Jacob and left them there in the hall. Kim kneeled next to Shego and tentatively placed her hand upon her shoulder. The suit was working just as they'd intended. She moved around and hooked her arms under Shego's and began pulling her down the lit hallway.

"This isn't going to work," Kim said. She wasn't strong enough to outright lift Shego over her shoulders.

"Need a hand, Possible?"

Kim gave a sigh of relief when Betty joined her.

"A stronger set of legs would work pretty well too," Kim answered.

"Help me get her onto my back," Betty said.

"It's not going to work her muscles are locked," Kim said. "She's ridiculously strong remember?"

Betty went to grab Shego's legs and they picked her up, moving as quickly as they could toward the exit.

"How much longer do you think we have?" Betty asked into her intercom.

"Less than five," One of her boys answered. "If you're lucky."

Shego felt her being carried but she could not tell by whom. There was too much going on. She felt her stomach turn. She was aware of the fact that she was still covered in plasma. She did not dwell on wondering how they were carrying her.

"The external temperate reading of your suit is giving troubling temperature readings." The female of the group told Betty and Kim.

"You don't think we know that?" Kim said in a panic. She was beginning to feel the heat from Shego's plasma seeping through the layers of the suit. "She's generating enough power to run a small city."

"Hurry up," was the only response she was met with.

"What have you done this time Henry?"

He whirled around to look at her.

"What have I done?" He asked. "You did this. You did this to us Karoline!"

"I don't understand," Karrie said. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"You left," He said. "You gave up on us, on our life, on our family."

"Because you're fucking psychotic," Karrie said. "It pains me to say my mother was right about you."

Henry frowned, the crazy look on his face sliding into one of indifference. Karrie watched as he pulled off his lab coat and waited as he rolled up the sleeves on his white button up shirt. He stared her down before sliding into a fighting position.

"I'll make you remember why you chose me," He said calmly. "the biggest mistake you ever made was walking out on me."

Karrie scoffed.

"I beg to differ," she replied. "and I didn't walk out. I kicked your ass and your shit out to the curb."

A/N: NaNaWriMo. Short chapter. Blame. So tired. What even is? Rho.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter twenty-three: Yabai!

"Betty," Kim said looking across Shego's body as they attempted to maneuver through the dimly lit halls. "Do you think she's going to be okay?"

"Now really isn't the time to worry about that," Betty said. "out first and then we can fawn over her health."

A figure approached them from the entrance. Kim couldn't tell what color the stripes on her suit were, the green shading of her night vision goggles contrasting with the red emergency flood lights were throwing off her senses.

"It's been a long time since I was last in your presence," Betty said, the two women didn't stop moving.

Like Karrie she wore a full face mask, but with the way she lowered her head and allowed it to loll to the side. Kim could only assume the woman was side eying them. She then shrugged.

As Betty and Kim approached her, Kim found their guest on her left side, she looked up and the woman stiffened as they passed. Once the three were clear, she took off quietly down the hall after Karrie and Henry.

"Who was that?" Kim asked.

"One of Shego's many aunts," Betty said. "trouble that one is."

"I'm getting the feeling her whole family is trouble," Kim said.

"You have no idea."

"You're running out of time!" They heard over their ear pieces. "They restored power to the main generators and are attempting to bypass..."

"Bypass what?" Kim asked hurriedly. The response was jumbled.

"They're scrambling our signal," Betty said.

The overhead lights flared to life and Kim and Betty had to remove their goggles. They heard footsteps approaching from the other end of the hall.

"Security breech in sector four lockdown will initiate in 10..."

"Son of a bitch," Betty growled.

"9..."

"The doors are going to close," Kim said. "You have to get out and arrange for back up."

"8..."

"I'm not leaving you two here," Betty insisted. She set Shego's legs down. The wouldn't make it to the exit before time ran out.

"7..."

"You're going to leave a bunch of nerds to form a rescue mission?"

"6..."

"No much of a choice," Betty ignored her and posed to fight.

"5..."

–

Karrie blocked Henry's offensive with ease. Although his fighting style had been impressive in their younger days it was obvious he hadn't quite kept up with his training.

"What's wrong Henry?" Karrie taunted. "all that desk work make you soft?"

He drew back and wiped at the blood dripping from his broken nose.

"Tell me," Henry said. "Do you ever think about me?"

Karrie scoffed in response.

"Did you ever wonder what happened to me? Did you ever wonder where I went?"

"You're making the mistake of thinking we care," Karrie said. "this story isn't about you. Just hand over the device you're using to control my kid."

"Our," He corrected. "She does have my eyes."

"Why I ought to..." Karrie lunged for him but he evaded her.

"Ought to what? Rip my heart out again?"

"Oh fucking get over it, Henry," Karrie said. "I think this proves you've got to be the biggest bitch..."

Henry grabbed a nearby desk chair and threw it at her before charging. She caught the chair and he used it to drive her backwards, forcing her to collide with the control panel behind her. The metal sheeting easily gave way as the legs of the chair sank through it.

"What is this made out of, aluminum?" Karrie grunted. "Let me guess, small budget."

"You're not in the position to be making jokes." Henry said, backing away from her. He watched Karrie attempt to free herself. "As much as she interested me, you know, she was never who I was truly after."

Karrie watched as he pulled a small remote control out of his pocket.

"But I knew you'd come after her." he said. "and I'm happy to see you didn't disappoint."

"You've got to be the most boring villain I've ever met," Karrie said. "If I wasn't attempting to draw out this fight for entertainment value I'd have killed you five minutes ago."

"What are you…? Oh, never mind." Henry turned the control over in his hand. "I designed this much like a correction collar for training disobedient mutts, let's see your precious shadow fight her way out of this one."

Henry cranked the levels up as high as they would go before throwing it angrily at the ground. He stomped on the left over pieces.

Karrie watched as the man was suddenly pulled backward, his eyes going wide. He attempted to gasp out words but instead fell to his knees.

"Yoss…" Karrie warned, her posture taking on a expression of disapproval.

"He's still alive," She teased. "For now. Can we go?"

"That was anticlimactic," Karrie said. "The opposite of entertaining."

Shego groaned from her place on the ground as she was released from Henry's control. Her heart raced. She watched through blurred vision as Betty and Kim fought off the guards that engaged them. The doors had closed, sealing them inside. Shego clutched her chest writhing as the heat engulfed her, she watched as her body became encompassed in green flames.

She heard Kim call for her and someone covered her body with their own.

–

Kim groaned, clenching her eyes shut tighter as sun light threatened to make it's way passed her eyelids.

"I'd not move if I were you," Kim recognized Betty Director's voice. "not that you could any way."

Kim heard movement and then the closing of curtains. She attempted to open her eyes, failing several times before succeeding. Betty sat next to her bed in a wheelchair and a neck brace. Bruises littered her body. Kim noticed a book in her lap.

"What happened?" Kim asked.

"Not completely sure," Betty said. "I woke up two days ago and couldn't remember a thing until this morning."

"Two days?" Kim looked down at her own body. It was covered by blankets but she could make out all of her limbs. "How long... how much time?"

"Nearly a week," Betty answered. "I'm still not sure what happened to Shego but my boys said everything was under control. I haven't had access to a cell phone so calling her mother was out of the question."

Kim nodded.

"Your parents were here not to long ago," Betty said. "Your mother had to nearly pry James from that chair. If I didn't know any better I'd say he hadn't moved since we had gotten here."

"Yeah," Kim said. "He's worse than mom when it comes to worrying."

Betty nodded.

"You want to wait for the doctors for a damage report or should I humor you?" Betty asked.

"If you'd be so kind," Kim attempted to joke. It didn't come out at she intended.

"You're fine," Betty chuckled. "and with the new heart and those bionic limbs Drakken made, you'll be as good as new."

"What!" Kim said. She finally used one of her arms to move the blanket. There were no bionic limbs to be found. "That's not funny."

"Perhaps not to you," Betty said. "The only fun I've gotten to have the last couple days is harassing the nurses. Trust me, that gets old pretty fast."

"I take it the suits worked better than the boys thought they would," Kim said, looking at her own scorchless flesh.

"I guess. I'm not certain there was anything to protect against, the boys indicated the heat censors in my suit remained at a safe level after I let go of her and yours showed a brief spike during contact and leveled off." Betty said. "But if my injuries are any indication, I'm pretty sure pieces of a building fell on me so there had to be more than heat involved."

"You lead such a hard life," Kim teased.

"You two make it a lot more difficult, I'll tell you that much," Betty said, smiling lightly. "but if I had to go through something like that, I'm glad it was with you."

Kim blushed. Their moment was cut short when a nurse entered the room.

"What happened to calling us if she woke up?" The nurse scolded Betty.

The older woman cringed when she attempted to shrug.

"How are you feeling Ms. Possible? Any dizziness, nausea, pain?"

"Just a mild headache."

The nurse checked her vitals.

"You two were very fortunate," she said. "It took the crews several hours to pull you from the rubble."

"I blame Shego," Kim said with a frown. "I think."

"A safe bet." Betty assured her.

—

"Shadow," Karrie said quietly, leaning against the wall outside of Shego's bedroom door. "how about a walk?"

"No thanks," Shego replied.

"What, you don't like going outside any more?"

"Tomorrow," was all the older woman was met with.

Karrie left Shego alone and started down the stairs. She met Hunter as he entered the house.

"Go talk to your daughter," Karrie replied.

Hunter huffed, she was always "his daughter" when she was being difficult.

"Samantha!" he called. "Come help me in the garage."

Shego cracked her eyes open. She was buried underneath her blankets, only the top portion of her dark mane was visible. Jacob pawed at her from his side of the bed. She hadn't been interested in the outside world and had no intentions of gaining any. She burrowed further into her blankets, ignoring her father.

Why couldn't they just leave her alone? She asked herself. She lifted her faintly glowing green hand and sighed. So long as she remained this way, everyone else would have to wait.

Her cell phone vibrated and she searched the bed for it.

"Stop calling me," she answered gruffly.

"Young lady, don't make me come up there," Hunter said. "Turn into a person and come down stairs."

He disconnected the call and Shego pondered pushing the limits with her father. She'd been an emotional wreck since the "incident" and dealing with anyone longer than five minutes was proving difficult.

She decided to get up, on her own provocation, she assured herself. She wasn't worried about anything her old man would do to her. After all, he wasn't her mother and his disapproving glare wouldn't have any effect on her if she couldn't see it.

Jacob's tail wagged as she got up. She rolled her eyes at her pathetic beast of a dog and rummaged through her clothes until she found something she wouldn't care about if ruined.

"I was just about to sic Hego on you," Hunter said. The garage door was open and he was pulling out random tools. She glanced at her mother's car and saw the hood was up and it was already jacked up and chocked.

"You called me down here for an oil change?" She glared. The red puffiness standing out against the pale green shade of her skin.

"Of course not," he said. "Your mother told me to talk to you and you know what they say…"

"Live fast, play hard, and die young?"

"Happy wife, happy life," he said ignoring her.

"So I can go back to my room now right, this counts as 'talking'"

"Not so fast," Hunter said. "Betty called, she said you've been ignoring her calls."

"I'm not interested in speaking with her just yet,"

"Well considering all she went through to find you, I think the least you could do is give her a few moments of all the time you've been wasting brooding over the whole situation."

"Dad…" Shego snapped, she sometimes forgot her father could be every bit the asshole her mother was.

"Just food for thought," He said adjusting his glasses. He handed her an oil pan and a wrench. "You know what to do."

She took the tools and went to work.

"What of that other friend of yours," Hunter asked. "That little redhead?"

"I don't want to talk about her," Shego said.

"So you've tabled everything?" Hunter asked. "At least you shower."

"Funny," she retorted. "Even if I called her, what would I say?"

"Hello?" Hunter said. "How are you? I heard a building fell on you, I was wondering if you were bouncing back alright?"

Shego didn't respond.

"This isn't how your mother and I taught you to deal with your problems, for someone so brave you sure do run from a lot of your issues."

"Stop," Shego told him. "I destroyed a building built like a maximum security prison in seconds with my family and friends inside. I wish people would just leave me alone; none of you know what happened to me down there."

"You're right," He said, leaning back onto his work bench. "You won't speak to any of us."

"I don't want to," Shego said through clenched teeth. She could feel tears of frustration building up.

"Sam," Hunter said, calmly staring at the pool of molten metal dripping from his daughter's hand. "My wrench."

"Sorry," She whispered. The tears that leaked from her eyes evaporated the moment they touched her cheeks. "I'm just really overwhelmed by it all. I can barely look at myself in the mirror and when I do come out, I'm slammed with guilt every time I see mom hobbling around the house."

"None of this was your fault," Hunter said. "When crazy people do crazy things innocent people tend to get hurt in the process. Everyone there made an educated decision to charge in head first because you were worth every bit of the risk they took. Don't dishonor their choice and what could have easily been an ultimate sacrifice."

"So what now?" Shego asked.

"You'll stop damaging everything in the house," Hunter smiled, "and we'll move on."

Shego slipped her hands into her pockets, night was falling and a breeze was stirring up. It had been a few a months since the incident at the compound. With her Betty's goading she'd graduated high school. Spent most of her time in hiding or suffering with her family; all the while trying to figure out what she planned to do with her life. She leaned back casually onto the side of her car. She was parked on a ridge overlooking Middleton. She heard tires on the unpaved road and then the engine of a car.

She didn't turn her head to see who it was. She already knew. When her visitor parked she listened as the car door opened and closed.

"Shego," Kim said. She lifted her left hand and tucked loose strands of red hair behind her ear. "it's been a while."

"Yeah," Shego said, continuing to look out over the city. "I've had a lot going on."

"I bet," Kim answered. She took a similar position next to Shego, leaning back on the other girls car. "You've also been avidly avoiding me."

"You're right," Shego said. She pursed her lips in thought. "I needed some time to think about things."

"And?" Kim said. Turning to look at her.

"We can't be friends," Shego said, still not meeting her gaze. "or whatever. On a personal level I'm just not ready for you and all that comes along with you."

"Sam..."

"I like you, Princess," Shego said, cutting her off. "obviously a lot more than I should and right now I think we have bigger things in our lives to focus on."

Kim sighed and pushed herself off of her leaning position. She stood in front of Shego, blocking her view of Middleton. Shego looked at Kim for the first time since her arrival and wished she hadn't. Kim looked disappointed, almost hurt, by her words.

"We've been through a lot, Pumpkin, and I'm sure in the future we'll go through even more," She said. She removed her hands from her pockets and held them out in front of her for Kim to take. The younger girl looked at the outstretched hands and after a few moments, grasped them. "but for now things just can't happen."

Shego gently pulled Kim to her. The space closed between them and Kim rested her head on the front of her shoulder. The two stood there in silence. Kim listening to the faint beating of Shego's heart. Shego relishing in the rise and fall of Kim chest with each breath against her own. Night had fallen and Middleton's lights brightened the expanse below them.

"What about your pet?" Kim asked.

"She's gone," Shego muttered. "I'm almost positive Betty had her citizenship revoked but I can't be sure."

Shego kissed Kim on the top of her head and Kim nuzzled her, returning the affectionate gesture.

"So what now?" Kim asked. "Are you just going to disappear?"

"Nah, Drakken is cooking up a new death ray as we speak. I'll see you next week," Shego joked.

Kim smiled, tilting her head up to gaze at Shego. The raven haired girl felt the back of her neck grow hot.

"I know what you're doing, Princess," Shego said. "You're not slick."

"I wasn't trying to be," Kim said. "I'm cute enough to not require that skill."

"Is that so?" Shego asked, entertained.

"Uh huh," Kim replied with a nod.

"If I gave in after rejecting you, I'd be sending you mixed signals," Shego said.

"Can't give something I steal," Kim teased her. "I learned that from an old Catholic schoolgirl I use to know."

Kim rose on the tips of her toes, sliding her left hand to Shego's cheek, she kissed her on the opposite side.

"I won't complicate things further, Shego," Kim said. "We've got our whole lives to drive each other bonkers."

AN: So I'm not sure if P.F.Y. (2/4) is coming next or Mayhem Manor (4/4). I've still got a fairly large hole (the fight with Shego's family)to fill from this story. It might end up being a side piece. Either way, the beginning of one of the two will be posted on Friday.

I also realize I'm not good with ending, so I'll have to start writing those first and then bridging the story.


End file.
